Gaia, My Home
by Rayna Lissesul
Summary: Two years later, Astrid is still looking for Rufus and the Turks... Sequel to 'Welcome to Gaia'
1. Two Years Later

Let's start with a little disclaimer that we all know(unless this is the first of my fics you have read. if you haven't read any of my other stories, then you won't recognize this.):

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

Also; Terikel, if you're reading this and it's past 11:30, do yourself a favor and _go to bed_! Just kidding! :) Your friend, Rayna.

Also, also, this picks up in Advent Children after Tifa has just called Cloud to leave him the message saying that Reno wanted to meet him.

(Two Years Later)

Tifa sighed and hung up the phone, shaking her head. 'Well, no matter what Reno wants with him, Cloud will be able to handle it.' A thought struck her and she picked the phone back up, dialing the number Reno had called from.

"_Heeeello, this is Reno._"

"Reno. It's Tifa." She said, sitting down in Cloud's chair.

"_Hey. What's up? Something wrong?_" He asked, voice vaguely concerned.

"Nothing." Tifa said, picking up a pen and spinning it around, "I was just wondering… have you heard from Astrid? Last I heard, she was looking for you guys."

"_That so? …No, I haven't seen her. We haven't even contacted her since that day._"

Tifa frowned, "So… she still thinks you're dead? That's really cold, you know. She was torn up when the Shin-Ra building collapsed, and she's been traveling ever since."

"_Two years of walking?_" Reno asked, whistling, "_Wow… that's a long time, ain't it?_"

"She's trying to find you." Tifa said shortly. "You should call her. She still has the PHS you guys gave her, and from what I've gathered from when she actually stayed with each of us two years ago, she keeps it by her side every night."

"_Jeez…_" Reno sighed, "_Yeah, thanks for telling me. I'll keep that in mind._"

Tifa pursed her lips and glared at the wall, "You'll keep it in mind… So, you still might not even tell her that you're alive? You'll keep her guessing? Keep her searching?

"_Hey, hey!_" Reno objected energetically, a frown in his voice, "_Of course I'll at least contact her, but right now things aren't in the kind of situation where we can… Look, don't worry, alright? I'll call her._"

"Good." Tifa said, nodding her head, "Well, bye."

"_Later._" Beep

Sighing, Tifa sat down the phone and stared at the pen in her hand, "Astrid… where are you?"

………

Reno shoved his PHS back into his pocket and sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"What is it?"

He turned and looked near the window, shaking his head at the person in the wheelchair. "Guess who's looking for us… Who's apparently been looking for us?"

"…"

Reno frowned, "She's been looking for two years, sir. Searching all of Gaia. And you don't really have to think to guess who exactly she's been looking for."

"…" The person in the wheelchair turned to look out the window, "Tseng and Elena still haven't come back…"

"Sir, with all due respect, she's no safer out there on her own." Reno said, sighing, "Besides, she might actually be able to help us… she did fight Sephiroth, after all."

"I'd rather not drag her into this. Now, let's get ready. Cloud may be here sometime soon."

Reno scratched the back of his head as the wheelchair rolled into the next room. When the door had closed, Reno took out his PHS and dialed a number, shaking his head and putting the phone to his ear, "Sorry, sir, but this is for your own good."

Beep "_This is Astrid. Leave a message._" Beep

"Astrid. It's Reno. Listen… we're still alive and—"

………

"—_and we're in a bit of a shaky situation right now, so we can't really meet. But, when all of this is over, we'll see you again. Well, later._"

Astrid snapped her PHS shut angrily, glaring down at the land beneath her. "So… they are alive." There was a yowl at her side and she looked down, nodding to the navy eyes staring up at her, "That's right, Dark. It looks like the Turks are alive… do you suppose he is, as well?"

Dark Nation shook her head, growling deeply.

"Don't worry, I'm angry, too." Astrid looked back down then canyon, her eyes narrowing, "And if he is and he's with them, he will get his." She then straightened, patting the back of the charcoal chocobo she was on, "Let's go, Misha. We're headed back to the Midgar Area."

The charcoal chocobo lifted her head and stomped her feet, "Wark!"

They turned and started walking, only to stop abruptly at the face of three boys mounted on three large motorcycles.

Astrid blinked as they dismounted, "Wow… how did you sneak up on me on those monsters?"

They boys smirked, the middle one stepping forward and tilting his head, "You seemed preoccupied, so we decided to wait until you were done."

Astrid smiled, "How sweet of you." She dismounted her chocobo and looked between the three, quirking a brow, "Has anyone ever told you that you bear an uncanny resemblance to Sephiroth?"

"We've heard." The one to the left, a young boy with long silver hair, said, shrugging.

"We're looking for Mother." The one on the right, a muscled boy with short hair, said shortly, "We thought we might be able to get information from you."

"Mother." Astrid repeated, her mouth twitching, "I'm assuming you're speaking of Jenova?"

The boys nodded.

Astrid sighed and shook her head, "Before I answer your question, I'd like to ask one."

"We don't have time for that!" The shorthaired one shouted, glaring at her and taking a step forward, "We need to find Mother now!"

"Loz." The middle one stepped forward and grabbed Loz's arm, "It's just one question. Mother can wait for one question." He looked at Astrid and nodded, "Very well. Ask."

Astrid nodded, "Is this about the Reunion?"

"Yes." The middle boy nodded, "And don't worry, you're still invited."

"I am?" Astrid blinked.

The same boy nodded again, "Yes. We took big brother Sephiroth's thoughts of little brother Marcus into consideration, and we decided that it's alright to keep your invitation valid. You're free to come if you wish."

Astrid nodded, "Thank you. When is it?"

"Not soon enough." Loz growled, glaring at her, "That's three questions. The deal was one. You're overdue for answering."

"But of course." Astrid nodded, "Last I saw her, Jenova had dissipated in the center of Gaia. She's long dead, boys."

Loz roared and jumped at her, grabbing her around the neck and strangling her, "Don't talk about Mother like that!"

"Loz!"

"Loz, no!"

Dark Nation roared.

The other two boys leapt forward and grabbed Loz, pulling him off of Astrid. Dark Nation ran in front of her and glared at the boys, growling deeply with her hackles raised.

"Let me kill her! Let me kill her, Kadaj!" Loz screamed to the middle one, tears pouring down his face, "She'll pay for what she said!"

"She is our sister, Loz!" The longhaired on said calmly, still holding his brother, "Regardless of what she says about Mother, she is still kin."

Astrid, who had fallen to the ground dry heaving, stood, coughing and rubbing her neck. After reaching out and soothing Dark Nation, she shook her head and rasped, "I had no intention of hurting you, and any injuries caused by my words were completely unintentional. I was simply stating what I knew as facts."

"We understand, sister." Kadaj said to Astrid, nodding, "But we disagree. We know Mother is sill here somewhere. We can feel her."

Astrid nodded, "If you say so, then it must be so. Such is the power of the draw of Reunion."

They boys nodded, Loz still crying.

"Well, you won't get any more information out of me concerning her location; I was sure she was dead." Astrid said, shaking her head.

Kadaj nodded, "Thank you for what you did tell us, sister. It was more than what others provided."

"My name is Astrid." She said, frowning, "And I don't believe we went through proper introductions."

"I am Kadaj." The middle one said.

"I am Loz." The shorthaired, crying one said.

"And I am Yazoo." The longhaired one said.

"Pleasure to meet you." Astrid nodded, "Though I must tell you, for the sake of not leaving information misinterpreted, I don't agree with you trying to complete the Reunion. In the end, I may very well end up opposing you."

"That's fine." Kadaj shrugged, "We have yet to meet anyone who agrees with it. Though, you should be aware that if you oppose us, we'll have no choice but to remove you as an obstacle."

"We should remove her now." Loz grumbled, wiping his eyes.

"No." Yazoo shook his head, "She may well change her mind, and Mother wants as many people to come as possible."

"Very cordial of her." Astrid said, massaging her throat. When the boys mounted their bikes, she rolled her shoulders and shouted, "I'll be seeing more of you, then? Or is this it until the Reunion?"

"We may seek you out." Kadaj said, glancing at her, "We'll contact you, otherwise." And they sped off.

Astrid stared after them for a moment, turning and mounting her chocobo when they were out of sight. "Ready to go, Dark Nation?"

The hellcat looked up at her, blinking and yowling. "Meowwww…"

"I'm fine." She said, hand brushing against her neck, "He could have done a lot worse, I know. But, brushing that off, what do you say we get to the Midgar Area and look for the Turks?… And maybe him."

She turned Misha and tapped the chocobo's sides lightly. The bird jumped into gear and started running at a light jog. Dark Nation leapt to her feet and padded after Astrid and Misha, glancing over her shoulder to where the boys rode off.

………

"What do we do about her, brother?" Yazoo asked Kadaj, glancing over at him, "She may prove to be a problem."

"There is nothing to worry about, Yazoo." Kadaj assured, looking ahead, "We are more than enough to handle this. Besides, even if she does interfere, big brother Sephiroth will always be able to stop her."

Loz grumbled as they talked, frowning, "We should have taken her when we had the chance."

"No." Kadaj snapped, turning abruptly away from his conversation with Yazoo to glare at Loz, "Mother wants her abilities. Mother wants the Book and 'Phantasmagoria Illustrate'. Mother won't settle for less, and we must get big sister in order to get the Book and the ability." He faced ahead, setting his eyes on the horizon, "We will get her, don't worry."

………

Drumming her fingers restlessly against the top of the bar, Tifa sighed. 'No one's come in today…' Not that she could really blame them, though. Ever since the Geostigma had started to spread, everyone had started avoiding most of the lower-class areas and slums, mainly because that was where the infected children had chosen to hide.

Suddenly, without warning and for the fifth time that day, Tifa's mind flew to the subject of Astrid. The woman sighed and shook her head, 'I shouldn't be that worried about her… I haven't seen much more of the others than I have of her… But… but at least the others call. She hasn't called any of us in over four months now.'

Sighing and shaking her head, Tifa walked up to her room and dug around in her closet, pulling out her PHS a moment later. First, she dialed Astrid's number.

Beep "_This is Astrid. Leave a message. And if this is you again, Reno, be warned… I'm coming for you._" Beep

Tifa blinked and held the phone back, looking at it in shock. She then ended the call without saying anything, shaking her head, 'Looks like Reno did call her…' Smirking slightly, she dialed Cid's number.

RingRingRingRi—Click

"_Cid here._"

Tifa smiled, "Hey, Cid. It's Tifa. You got a moment?"

"_Sure. What's up?_"

"I was wondering if you'd heard from Astrid lately." She said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, "She hasn't called in a while and I was getting worried."

"_Called about a month ago, actually._" Cid said, taking a moment to think before going on, "_Said somethin' about going to the Junon Area for a few weeks. Visiting Fort Condor, or somethin' like that. Haven't seen her, though, in about… a year, I think. Give 'er take a few months._"

Tifa bit her lip, "Do you know who she might have kept in closer contact with?"

"_If I were to make a guess, I'd actually say Yuffie. Annoyin' as that girl is, she actually got the Wutai people to treat Astrid pretty well._"

"Thanks, Cid." Tifa said, smiling, "This means a lot to me."

The man laughed, "_No problem. Good to hear from you again._"

"Good to hear from you, too. Bye."

"_Later._" Click

Tifa skimmed through the numbers on her PHS and clicked on Yuffie's, sighing tiredly and putting the phone up to her ear. The years had done to calm Yuffie… a bit. But not much.

Ri—Click

"_Hello?_"

"Yuffie! It's Tifa. Hey, have you heard from Astrid?"

"_Hey, Tifa! Yeah. She came in about three months ago and stayed for five days. She called a week ago, though, and said she was getting ready to leave the Junon Area and head to the Grasslands Area. What's up? Something wrong?_"

"No." Tifa sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed, "I just hadn't heard from her and I was getting worried. She's always wandering Gaia, you know, going who exactly knows where and fighting Gaia knows what."

"_Yeah, I know. She's always too itchy to stay anywhere too long, but I wish she'd just find a good place and settle down, already. Guess the fight never really left her, though._"

Tifa shook her head, "I don't think that was it… I think she just never found somewhere she felt completely comfortable. You know… somewhere that felt like home."

"_Yeah… I can see that being it. Astrid always was a bit of the odd one out, wasn't she?_"

"In a way." Tifa said, standing, "Hey, thanks for your help. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"_You betcha. Bye, Tifa!_" Click

Tifa sighed and set the phone on her nightstand, falling onto her bed and staring at the ceiling. "Wutai… Junon… Grasslands… You've really been traveling, haven't you, Astrid?"

After thinking for a moment, Tifa sat back up and picked up her PHS, dialing one final number.

"_This is Cloud. Leave a message._"

"Cloud, it's Tifa again. Listen, while you're on your way to see Reno, keep an eye out for Astrid. I think she may be in the area…"


	2. Reminiscing

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(Reminiscing)

Astrid sighed and twisted her head sharply, the sound of her neck cracking making Misha and Dark Nation wince. Sighing, Astrid looked at the land before her and pursed her lips for a moment, then smiled down at Dark Nation.

"Welcome home, hun. Welcome back to the Midgar Area."

'Three years, nine months, twenty days… before that time, I had no idea that Gaia was a real place.'

Astrid tapped Misha's sides and the charcoal chocobo leapt forward, Dark Nation close behind.

'All I knew of Gaia… was that it was a world of fantasy, ruled by the energies of the planet and the machines of the humans… The mako, and Shin-Ra Electric Power Company.'

The chocobo's feet thumped against the ground heavily. Rhythmically.

'But to me, the world had only existed in the form of electronic media or written word. Never in actuality.'

Raising up plumes of dust.

'But then, something happened. Somehow, Gaia became my reality and my old home, Earth, just a memory.'

Dark Nation ran alongside them, her eyes trained ahead intensely.

'I was drug from all I knew into a world of fantasy, I was forced to forsake all I knew and had, and all in the name of one man…'

Both hellcat and chocobo leapt over a shallow, wide gorge.

'Sephiroth.'

They bent slightly as they landed, letting the ground absorb the force of their impact before they started running again.

'It was because of this man that I was forced to come into the world of Gaia and fight in a battle I had no personal interest in, other than one thing… one person.'

They rounded the corner of the chain of mountains, the Midgar Area stretched before them.

'My little brother, Marcus. Sephiroth had taken him from me and brought him to Gaia. So, I did the only thing that was right… I went after Sephiroth, and came to Gaia.'

They ran faster and faster, Astrid and Dark Nation feeling more and more tense the further they get into Midgar and Misha, feeling this, tensing, as well.

'It was then I was taken by Shin-Ra, and in their main building I was kept for several months as an experiment. It was during my time as an experiment that I was introduced to the other force that makes Gaia great, the force of mako.'

Then, as they got close to the heart of the Midgar Area, something began to form in the distance.

'Mako entered my body and flowed through it with my blood, changing me in many ways, some visible and some not. It wasn't until many months after the experiments began that I began to understand just how much the mako changed me.'

A dark spot… and a large one.

'Then, the day came when I left Shin-Ra and began my journey to recover my brother from the clutches of Sephiroth and his mother, Jenova.'

The closer they got to it, the more distinct the shape became. But Astrid didn't have to get very close to know what she was looking at.

'It was during that time that I began to realize something. Over the course of those long months of scouring, I began to realize that Sephiroth was changing Marcus, physically and mentally.'

Midgar… or, at least, what was left of it.

'Marcus was serving Sephiroth, helping him in his goals in resurrecting Jenova and destroying the Planet.'

Just a short ways north of the remains of Midgar, Astrid knew, there was the city of Edge; the city the citizens of Midgar had built and lived in after Meteorfall.

'Over the course several months of traveling, me and the party I was with (Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Barret Wallace, Aerith Gainsborough, and Red XIII or Nanaki) grew close and in rank, adding more people like Yuffie, Cait Sith, Vincent Valentine, and Cid Highwind. We became close, and they became another family to me.'

As they drew closer to Midgar, the grassy plains became hard, compact dirt, a result of the Shin-Ra reactors draining the mako out of the Planet.

'It was in Cosmo Canyon that the elder, Bugenhagen, gave me something… incredible. He gave me the Book.'

Astrid pulled Misha to a stop on a ridge overlooking Midgar, gazing blankly at the Buster Sword that Cloud had left there years ago. Looking beyond it, she saw something… indistinct. Frowning, she squinted her eyes.

'The Book was an unexplainable item that was documenting my journey through Gaia, writing everything verbatim as it happened.'

Moving towards Midgar was what appeared to be four motorcycles, and three of them weren't treating the fourth very nicely. Astrid frowned and shook her head, brushing them off.

'Oddly enough, the Book was written by me.'

She then turned and faced the mountains, studying them carefully.

'At first, I wanted nothing to do with the Book. Then, when it became obvious that Sephiroth and Marcus wanted the Book, I sent the others back to get it while I went off on another mission; to talk with my brother.'

At Astrid's side, Dark Nation lifted her head and sniffed the air as a breeze blew in from the mountains. The cat froze, then sniffed again.

'Marcus told me a lot of confusing things that evening. He told me that Sephiroth wanted us because we had some kind of 'untapped potential' that he wanted to use. That he wanted to train.'

The hellcat shook her head and roared, a sound that echoed across the land and smashed into the mountains. She then shot forward, leaving Astrid in her dust.

'When I refused, Marcus became angry and left, and I continued to chase after him. In Rocket Town, though, I was captured by Shin-Ra and taken back to Midgar, where I was locked away for a short time.'

Astrid leaned forward and shouted to Misha, the chocobo responding immediately and jumping forward, shooting after Dark Nation.

'It was with the help of Shin-Ra's own Turks, Tseng, Elena, Reno, and Rude, that I managed to escape and meet up with the others at the Temple of Ancients. It was there that the Black Materia, the solidified mako that would unleash Meteor, was made, and Aerith left us.'

The hellcat ran faster and faster, making it hard for Astrid to keep up.

"DARK NATION! WAIT!"

The cat slowed, but only marginally.

'We left in hot pursuit of Aerith, flying through Bone Village to the Forgotten Capital. It was in that city, before we found Aerith, that I saw Marcus again, and I began to realize that he was in grave danger.'

Dark Nation flew across the desolate grounds of the outer ring of Midgar and back onto the grassy plains and towards a small chain of mountains just south of the abandoned city. Clearly, she now knew where she was going.

'Marcus was sick… I tried to help him, but he made me leave, threatening my friends. I left and rejoined the party, and we continued the journey a short time later, just to witness Aerith's death; impaled through the back by Sephiroth. It was… one of the saddest moments in my life.'

As the mountains came closer and closer, Dark Nation went faster and faster, impervious to Astrid's calls. Astrid was now sure that they were getting close to something.

'I left the party after that, intending to go north on my own and get my brother before he met the same fate as Aerith. But I didn't go alone. Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Vincent joined me, determined to fight alongside me. Together, we braved the harsh cold of the arctic and made it to the northern reaches, where Cloud and the rest of the group rejoined us. Then, we went into the Northern Crater.'

They were at the foot of the mountains, and Astrid was immensely grateful that she had taken the time to find that Chocobo Sage and learn to make the black chococbo. As soon as Dark Nation started climbing, the chocobo's instincts immediately kicked in and she started jumping after her, completely at ease in the rugged terrain.

'…But we had arrived too late, for just moments after we had stepped through the final barrier, Marcus died in my arms.'

After climbing through the woods and cliffs for a bit, Dark Nation found and took advantage of a road, a fact that both disappointed and pleased Misha.

'The next few months were a whirlwind of confusion and suppressed pain. I was taken in by Shin-Ra, where I got to know a different side of the president, Rufus Shinra, a side far different from anything I had ever suspected him being capable of. Oh, he was still Rufus, but he was also someone a bit… different. More human and connectable, I suppose.'

The path continued on for a ways, twisting and winding through the trees and providing ample scenery. But neither Astrid nor Dark Nation, nor even Misha, were paying attention. They only had the objective in mind; whoever lay in wait at the end of the trail.

'One thing led to another and, before I knew it, I was in a relationship with Rufus… one that only lasted three weeks before he was killed by Diamond WEAPON. Before he died, though, he made me a promise; he swore he'd come for me.'

Then, abruptly and without warning, the trail ended… at the bottom of a staircase.

'From there, I went to Cosmo Canyon and turned the Book over to Bugenhagen, then went back to the Northern Crater to face Sephiroth for the final time. The team fought… and we won.'

Astrid, Dark Nation and Misha looked at the staircase, eyes following it up to the building at the top. Dark Nation became very still.

'That was two years ago. Ever since then, I've been searching… searching for any remains of either Rufus or the Turks, hoping at least one small part of Shin-Ra that I had become involved with on a close basis had survived.'

There was movement inside of the small cabin, but whoever it was hadn't noticed the three outside.

'And I think I may have just found it.'

Dismounting slowly, Astrid made to walk up the steps, but froze before she could put her first foot on the steps. The memories started coming back.

"_And I take it I'll be accompanying as a prisoner on both rides, then?" Astrid asked, sighing._

"_Essentially," Rufus answered, "Though you won't be nearly as uncomfortable as most prisoners." He glanced at her, smirking, "We like you too much for that."_

"_Aw, I'm touched." Astrid cooed, rolling her eyes, "So, what do you want from me? Information or character battle stats?"_

"_Marcus Cray." She jumped and turned to look at Rufus, who was staring at the tombstone, "Born unknown, died in the winter. Powerful warrior, beloved brother. 'Return to Planet and Rest in Eternal Light'." He paused, then glanced at Astrid and shrugged, "It was an old Ancient saying, I think. Seemed appropriate." When she turned to the grave and lowered her head, he patted her shoulder, "We'll wait for you."_

_Astrid rolled her eyes, "Yes, Mommy." She then crossed her arms and pouted, "Are you leaving me with a bedtime, too?"_

_Rufus quirked a brow, "Eight thirty. And I'm not your mother."_

"_Who are you, then? The imperialistic husband that graduated from Little Tyrant Academy with perfect marks? Fine." She leaned forward and bumped her cheek against his, the corner of her mouth brushing his skin. Beneath her touch, Rufus jumped. She giggled and put on her valley girl accent, "Good luck, honey. I love you!" She thought about it, then bowed mockingly and asked, "Or should I call you 'führer'?"_

_Rufus just stared at her, his face blank._

_Astrid frowned, "Rufus? Hello?" She waved her hand in front of his face, "Anybody home?" When he still didn't answer, she frowned and stared at him._

"_What?" Rufus asked after a moment, blinking and shaking his head._

_Astrid sighed, still frowning, "Never mind."_

_Rufus laughed lightly and scratched Dark behind the ears, then looked up at Astrid and smirked. It slowly faded to a frown, though, when he took a look at what she was wearing. "Are those—"_

"_Yours?" She finished as she approached, bracing herself when Dark Nation turned away from Rufus and leapt up at her, "Yep." She knelt down and scratched the cat up and down her body, "With a few adjustments, of course. They never would have worked otherwise. What do you think, Reno?" She asked, standing and spinning as the Turks walked up, "Could I pass for Rufus in a cosplay convention? Or maybe for Halloween?" She raised her hand and dramatically flicked her bangs back, smirking arrogantly, "I've been practicing."_

_Astrid fiddled with her coat nervously, shooting a glare at Rufus, "I hate you."_

_The president shrugged, straightening the cuffs of his suit, "And I love to watch you squirm."_

"_Sadistic bastard."_

_Rufus smirked, "That pantsuit looks very becoming."_

"_I despise you." She hissed._

"_I could always send the pantsuit back and order you a dress…"_

_Astrid blinked and frowned, her hand shooting out and pressing against Rufus's forehead, "Do you have a fever or something? Maybe you should go lie down." Realizing what she was doing, Astrid twitched and pulled her hand back, only to have a hand grasp her wrist and push her hand back to where it had been._

"_No." Rufus smirked, holding her hand against his forehead, "I'm not sick, and that's staying there." His smirk widened at her shock, "It's good to see that you're still in there. I was concerned when you went meek and quiet on me."_

"_President…" Astrid muttered, trying weakly to pull her hand back, "This is terribly improper."_

"_And it won't stop until you put some muscle into your attempts and get me off." Rufus said, smirking, "Think, Astrid, what would you do if you weren't being pathetic?"_

_He somehow seemed to have seen her, though, because his eyes narrowed and he walked around the sofa, reaching out for her arm. "Yoo're no' calling Clou—" His feet got tangled on her suit jacket and he fell, knocking into her so they both toppled through the door and onto her bed._

_Astrid froze, suddenly lying on her back with Rufus Shinra lying on top of her, his body (the entire length of it) pressing her against her own bed firmly. Had he not been drunk, she might have felt differently about it… might have. But, because he was drunk, she felt… uncomfortable._

"_Where's your cardkey?"_

"_Dig around in my pants. You'll find it."_

_Astrid smirked back, "Life's full of choices."_

_Rufus nodded, "Let's hope this is the right one." And he closed the space between them, capturing her lips in his._

_She heard him sigh, "You idiot…" Then she was pulled up against his chest and his mouth was pressed against hers, his arms wrapping around her back and holding her tightly._

_Astrid closed her eyes tightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him hungrily. 'Don't make me let go…'_

_Against her will, though, he pushed her away a moment later and looked down at her seriously, "Astrid, you have to get out of here. Go and find Tseng and tell him to take you to Cosmo Canyon."_

"_No." She shook her head, glaring up at him, "Not without you. You don't have a reason to stay here anymore. The Sister Ray won't work!"_

"_It will." He said, looking at her determinedly, "And when it does and all of this is over, I'll come for you. I swear. Now, go."_

"_Don't worry." Rufus said, smirk returning to its normal cockiness, "I don't plan on dying yet; I still have a lot to do in this world."_

Astrid shook her head, glancing back at the chocobo and the hellcat. "Misha, stay here. Dark Nation, let's go."

The chocobo shook her head and planted her feet.

Dark Nation paused, then stood, padding over to Astrid's side.

Astrid took a deep breath, then turned back to the staircase and took the first step.


	3. Alive

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(Alive)

Even as Astrid stood in front of the door, she could still hear movement and talking inside. The words and voices were indistinct, but she could tell her presence was still unknown. She reached out to take the handle of the door, but her hand froze just above it and her confidence wavered. She was lowering her hand when something silky and warm brushed against it.

Astrid looked down at Dark Nation and nodded, "Sorry."

At her voice, all movement and talking inside ceased. Astrid faced the door and listened, frowning when she heard nothing further. No longer hesitant, she reached out and pulled the handle, pushing the door in slowly.

She glanced inside, frowning at the empty room. Waving her hand slightly to signal to Dark Nation to stay, she stepped into the cabin, walking partway to the middle of the room before…

Something snapped and a cold, metal rod was placed against her neck. "Well, well, what do we have here? A spy?"

Astrid smirked, "No one of particular interest… Though I do find this kinda arousing, in a kinky sorta way…"

The person laughed huskily, "Unfortunately for you, I'm not searching."

"Too bad." She spun around quickly, ducking under the Electro-Mag Rod and hitting the palm of her hand stoutly and forcefully against the person's chest, making them fly backwards. She then spun around again, her leg flashing out and her foot burying itself into the stomach of a second attacker, making him grunt and step back. Astrid smiled at the still standing man in front of her, foot still touching his stomach, "Hey, Rude."

Rude blinked, his gloved hands lowering, "Astrid?"

"Whoa, whoa, Astrid?!" Reno's voice exclaimed, coming up behind her.

When his hand touched her shoulder, Astrid quickly grabbed him by the wrist, using both hands to jerk him into the air and spin him around at her shoulder height, dropping him onto the ground. She glared down at his shocked, winded face, "Reno."

A smirk struggled at his lips, his voice rasping, "Nice to see you."

"Nice to see you, too." She reached down and grabbed his Electro-Mag Rod from beside his head, bringing it back up quickly and smacking Rude across the face with it. "How long's it been?" She asked nonchalantly, watching with a blank face as Rude fell to the ground, "Two years? Going onto three?"

"Y-yes." Rude stuttered, rubbing his jaw, "That sounds about right."

"Does it, now?" She asked, straightening and crossing her arms, "And tell me, what have you been doing these last two years that was so important you couldn't even leave a message? A letter? A fucking Post-It?!" She lashed out and kicked Reno in the ribs, not even wincing when he cried out and something cracked.

"T-t-t-things!" Reno wheezed, rolling onto his stomach and pushing himself into a crouching position. "Very important things that required the utmost secrecy. FUCK!" He screamed when his arms buckled underneath him, his body crashing back to the floor.

"Quit being a pansy." Astrid hissed, kneeling down beside him and rolling him onto his back. "Move your hands!" He lowered them slowly, having raised them in defense when she had leaned in closer. Sighing angrily, Astrid reached out and pushed back his suit jacket, unbuttoning his white shirt and pressing her hand against his already bruising flesh where she had broken roughly three ribs. Her hand glowed briefly, and when she took it away the ribs were already healed, the bruise gone.

"Wow." Reno blinked as she stood. He poked his chest with one finger, then stared up at her, "You've gotten good."

"Had to." She said, moving onto Rude and healing the gash on his cheek from where she had hit him, "I've been around a lot since that time."

"Any particular reason you never… settled down, or something?" Reno asked, standing and buttoning his shirt.

Astrid stared at an empty spot over Rude's shoulder for a moment, then shook her head and stood, "Never found anywhere that felt like home." Shaking her head, she walked over to the window and looked out, crossing her arms. "Edge reminded me too much of Midgar, Kalm is still too damn creepy, Junon is in too much of an anarchist state for me to feel safe, Costa del Sol was too bright, no one likes me in Corel, Gongaga is still being emo, Cosmo Canyon… too many memories, don't like the fact that actors inhabit Nibelheim, Rocket Town has too much action dealing with crude oil, Wutai was getting a bit too friendly, Bone Village was too close to the Forgotten Capital, and Icicle Inn was too cold."

Reno and Rude, who had stood while she was talking, blinked, Reno laughing, "You sure you just don't have impossible standards? What about Mideel?"

She immediately answered, "Too small." Astrid then shook her head and laughed lightly, "Maybe I do have impossible standards… Then again…" She turned and looked at them, smirking, "I did live in Shin-Ra for awhile, so my standards would be a bit affected, no?"

A door opened and something rolled in.

"Too much perfection has been known to be a bad thing."

Astrid froze at _his_ voice, then closed her eyes. "It was hardly perfection… too much invasion of privacy for that."

"…I suppose there was."

She opened her eyes and looked out the window, trying to ignore his reflection in the glass, "…Where have you been?"

"In hiding." He answered, rolling up beside her, "It was too dangerous after the incident to safely return, so I had this place privately constructed and have been recovering here ever since."

"Recovering…" She repeated, closing her eyes again, "Yeah. I suppose you would have been severely injured after what happened."

He nodded. "I was. Six hour operation, several blood transfusions, countless stitches, suffering from a coma that lasted several months, becoming an anemic for a short amount of time… it wasn't easy. I barely survived."

"But you did." Astrid said abruptly, not opening her eyes.

"…I did." He said after a pause.

"You did… and you didn't tell me." She continued, still not opening her eyes.

"…I didn't." He admitted.

"Good." She said, nodding and opening her eyes, "So, now you know why I'm going to do this." Astrid spun around quickly and delivered a strong right hook to his jaw, knocking both him and his wheelchair over. Turning sharply, Astrid stormed across the room, pausing at the door. "Oh, and there's someone else who wanted to see you, too."

The door opened and Dark Nation burst in, sprinting across the room and batting him across the back of the head with her large paw.

When the hellcat had pranced back across the room and out the door, Astrid smiled mockingly to the man on the floor and giving an exaggerated bow, "Good to see you again, Rufus."

The three men watched her walk out silently, wincing slightly when she slammed the door.

After a moment, Reno laughed nervously, "I think… she missed us?"

………

Astrid thudded down the steps angrily, skipping two steps at a time. "Wait!" She heard Reno call, but she ignored him and stepped off of the last step, storming over to Misha.

"Astrid!" She pulled to a stop when Reno dropped down in front of her, grabbing her shoulders, "Hear us out, at least!"

"If you keep jumping from high places, you'll eventually tear the cartilage in your feet. Now move before you tempt me to help it along!" She tried to brush past him, but he only held her tighter.

"Look at me!"

Scowling, she turned her head.

"Astrid, please look at me!"

Astrid sighed and looked up into his face, blinking at the set determination she saw.

"Please, hear him out." He said, his voice firm and his eyes never breaking contact, "That's all I'm asking; hear Rufus out."

She stared at him a bit longer, then sighed and shook her head, "Fine. Let's go."

Reno let her, nodding, "Thank you."

They walked back to the cabin, Dark Nation padding moodily behind them. Inside, Astrid watched blankly as Reno and Rude tried to help Rufus back into his wheelchair only to have the volatile man glare them into backing off.

"Glad you decided to come back in, Astrid." Rufus said, weakly standing and righting his wheelchair, "I was hoping you'd think reasonably and reconsider this."

Astrid rolled her eyes, "If I had really considered this reasonably, I'd have left already." She frowned when Rufus righted the wheelchair, only to fall back onto the ground. "Why don't you just let them help you?"

"Because, I don't need help." He huffed, turning the chair to face him and grabbing the armrests, "I'm perfectly capable of handli—" He teetered halfway into pulling himself up and fell. "Damn it!"

"Idiot." Astrid walked briskly to his side and righted the chair again. When she turned to him and he glared at her, Astrid rolled her eyes, "Quit acting like a sullen child." She pulled his arm over her head and around her neck, grabbing his waist and pulling him to his feet. Setting him gently down into the wheelchair, she looked down at him and smirked, "There now. Was that so hard?"

Rufus closed his eyes and pursed his lips, "I could have gotten it myself."

"Of course you could have." She said, leaning down to his level and looking at him derisively out of the corner of her eye, "Unfortunately for you, I got tired of waiting." Standing abruptly, Astrid walked to the other side of the room and leaned against the front door, staring at him, "Well, what did you want to talk about?"

"…General things." Rufus said, turning his chair slightly to look out the window, "How have you been?"

Astrid stared at him blankly, "How… have I been? You're gone for two years and you want to know how I've been?!"

Rufus glanced at her, eyes lowering slightly, "What do you want me to ask?"

"I don't want you to ask anything!" Astrid shouted, standing, "I want answers! Where the hell you've been! What you've been doing! Why you never called!"

"I've been here, like I already said." Rufus answered, his eyes still lowered, "I've been recovering. And, as for why I never called…" He looked up at her, his face blank, "I was sure you'd moved on."

Astrid shook her head and laughed, "Hah! Moved on… As if you would have let that stop you, even if I had. You're Rufus Shinra!" She shouted, glaring at him, "As if you would give up that which is 'rightfully yours'!" She paused, taking a step back, "Or was I not that important? Was I not important enough for you to waste the energy chasing?"

"Now you're being ridiculous." Rufus said, looking at her with a cynical glint in his eye.

"Maybe I am… but at least one of us is willing to admit to some form of emotion about this!" Astrid shouted, turning to walk out the door. Her hand froze on the handle, though, and she shook her head, sighing loudly and stepping away from it. As much as she hated where she was, she didn't want to leave…

"Reno, Rude, leave us for a moment." Rufus commanded.

The two Turks walked past Astrid, both of them throwing her apologetic grins before they walked out the door.

"I'm sorry." He said as soon as they were gone, "I should have called you, but I didn't." Astrid turned to face him and he went on, "Things have changed a lot since that incident. Animosity towards Shin-Ra was at an all-time high after Cloud and his group spread the truth, and I had to stay in hiding even after my recovery was well under way so that I didn't end up assassinated." Rufus looked at her and shook his head, "I would have called you, had I not been afraid that you would have ended up dying in the crossfire."

Astrid stared at him silently for a moment, then nodded to him, "I've been meaning to ask, what's up with the sheet?"

Rufus sighed, smirking at her acceptance of his explanation, and brushed his hand against the sheet draped over his body, "Adds to the ambiance, I think."

"You have Geostigma, don't you?" She asked bluntly, frowning when his hand dropped, "You do…"

Rufus nodded, "I do… though that's not the only reason. But that's beyond the point." Rufus stood and let the sheet fall into a heap in the wheelchair, smirking when Astrid gapped slightly at the bandages around his eye and neck, "Battle scars. Impressed?"

Astrid closed her mouth, smirking as Rufus slowly stalked over to her, "Vaguely…"

"Good." He pressed his hand against the wall beside her head, leaning in and whispering into her ear, "That's what I was aiming for."

Astrid glanced at him, still smirking, and whispered back, "How could you have been aiming for that if you weren't even sure I was coming back?"

Rufus laughed, letting his head fall against her shoulder, "You've become quite the pessimist, haven't you?"

"I prefer to think of it as 'realism' rather than 'pessimism'." She answered, leaning against his neck, "A lot friendlier wording."

Rufus was silent for a moment. He then stood and took her chin in his hand, tilting her head slightly and staring at her. He blinked, "You really did wait for me, didn't you?"

Astrid yanked her head out of his hand and pushed past him, shrugging, "Maybe, maybe not. You never know, maybe I found myself a nice, polite beau somewhere else in Gaia." She sighed and leaned against the window sill, looking out at the scenery, "A doting, lovable man who swept me off my feet with romantic dinners and fancy gifts and who writes poetry for me and reads it aloud as we sit on an airy veranda underneath a hot midnight sky, moon high above, garbed in nothing but thin robes that barely conceal anything…" She said the last three words slowly, glancing over her shoulder and throwing him a playful smile.

Rufus rolled his eyes and scoffed, walking over to her with a confident swagger in his step, "As if you'd let a man like that win you over. You'd eat him alive."

"Then perhaps his contemporary?" She smirked, turning around and leaning back against the window, "A tall, dark man with a derisive and detached attitude who seizes me whenever he wishes?"

"You're being ridiculous again." Rufus smirked, "Why have either of them when you could have me?"

"You?" She shook her head and giggled, "Well, that's a laugh! A scrawny, weedy little man with a sharpshooters aim in guns and nothing else, with a cocky attitude and depends on his wealth and powers to intimidate to keep his minions in line? Now, why would I want a man like that?" She smirked at the look he was giving her.

"That's not funny." Rufus said, frowning at her.

Astrid smiled and shook her head, walking over to him and wrapping her arm through the crook of his elbow, leaning against him slightly, "No, Rufus. There was no one else. I've been looking for you ever since the battle ended and the group and I went our own ways."

"Good." He leaned back against her, perhaps a bit more heavily than she because of his condition, "That means we can pick up where we left off…"

"I'd like that."

They pulled apart abruptly when the door opened, Rufus falling back into his wheelchair and covering himself with the sheet, taking a moment to adjust as if he had fallen onto something uncomfortable.

"Guess who's finally here?" Reno asked, smirking.

"Who?" Astrid glanced at Rufus, frowning.

"Cloud." Rude answered, looking to Rufus for orders.

"Take me into the other room, quickly." Rufus said, turning his chair towards the other door, "He won't stay here long if he finds out I'm involved."


	4. Attempts at Negotiations

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(Attempts at Negotiations)

Astrid grabbed the handles and pushed him to the door, nodding to Rude when he opened it for them. She looked down at Rufus as she pushed him through, "What do you want Cloud for?"

"I need his help." Rufus said, "Now turn me back to the door and we'll wait for the opportune moment."

Astrid quirked a brow and stared at the back of his head.

Rufus jerked slightly, then shook his head, "Please."

"Better." She grabbed the wheelchair and turned it, backing further into the room when Cloud burst into the foyer of the cabin. 'He looks like he's doing well enough…' She smirked when he tricked Reno out the door and shut it on him.

"Okay! So you're good!"

She held back a laugh, sobering when the ever serious Rude walked through the door, pulling on his gloves.

"Yeah, Rude! Lookin' sharp!"

Cloud and Rude were about to fight when Cloud raised his heavy sword to Rude's neck, making the Turk back off.

"That's enough." Astrid walked through the door, grabbing Rude's arm and pulling him back, glaring at him slightly, "He's not here to fight." She looked at Cloud and smiled, "Hey, Cloud."

He nodded to her, lowering his sword, "Astrid. It's good to see you. Tifa's been worried."

"It's good to see that you still fight like the SOLDIER you once claimed to be." Rufus said, wheeling himself into the room and stopping between Rude and Astrid, "You haven't lost your touch."

Cloud blinked in shock, "Rufus Shinra?" He then looked at Rude, "Do I feel sorry for you."

Rude and Astrid looked away and coughed, Astrid holding back a laugh. Rufus jerked his head back at them, then looked at Cloud again, "The day of the explosion..."

Cloud frowned, "What do you want from me?"

Rufus continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "I managed to get out..."

Cloud's frown changed to a scowl. "Who were the guys that attacked me?"

Rufus still continued, "Before it collapsed..."

Cloud started to turn away, "I'm leaving."

The room was silent for a moment.

"We need your assistance, Cloud." Rufus said.

Cloud shook his head and turned away, "Not interested."

"I acknowledge that Shin-Ra ... owes the planet a lot." Rufus said, stopping Cloud, "It goes without saying that my company and I are the ones that put the world in the sorry state it's in. Therefore, it's our responsibility to set things right."

"I'm still out here!"

"Shut it, Reno!" Astrid shouted, frowning.

Rufus ignore them and went on, "As a first step, we have commenced an investigation in Sephiroth's wake."

"Yep! At the Northern Cave!"

This time, Astrid didn't bother to snap at him. She was too busy staring at Rufus in shock.

"This news to you, too?" Cloud asked, glancing at her.

"You bet it is." Astrid said, shaking her head and walking to the right, leaning against the wall and staring at them, "I've been out of the loop a bit too long."

"In this investigation, what do you think we found?" Rufus asked, moving on. When Cloud tensed, he shook his head, "Nothing. Nothing at all. You can relax. However, not all went as planned. We were interrupted by the same three who attacked you — Kadaj and his gang."

"Kadaj…"

"Kadaj?"

Everyone looked at Astrid, Cloud asking, "You know them?"

"Met them recently." She said, frowning, "Polite enough boys… but hiding something."

"Polite." Rufus scoffed. He turned back to Cloud, "It seems he doesn't want us finishing what we started. Really, what could they be thinking?"

Astrid frowned, tempted to say something but biting her tongue.

"What does this have to do with me?" Cloud asked, frowning.

"You're our buddy, aren't ya?"

"Reno." Astrid raised her voice, never looking away from Cloud and Rufus.

"Kadaj and his group are young and violent — as dangerous as they come." Rufus said, "That's why we decided that it might be in our best to hire a little muscle." He nodded to Cloud, at which point the mercenary scoffed and turned away.

"Too bad. I'm only a delivery boy now."

"You're all we have." Rufus said after him, frowning, "Cloud, look, you're an ex-SOLDIER, aren't you?"

"Heh, in my head." Cloud paused at the door, not looking back, "What's this stuff about… Mother?"

Rufus blinked, "Why? Did Kadaj say something to you? No surprise." He shrugged, "There are plenty of kids who miss their mothers; that's the world we live in. I hear there are orphans living with you. Think about it: don't you want to put smiles back on their faces? All we want in the end is to rebuild our world, Cloud."

For a moment, it looked like Rufus was actually about to get Cloud. He turned back and glanced at the president, understanding and consent beginning to show on his face.

"But… I…"

"Come on, Cloud! Think about it! Together, we could rebuild Shin-Ra!" And with that, the bond was broken.

"Not interested." Cloud turned to the door and slammed it open, shocking Reno.

"RENO!" Rude and Rufus shouted.

"Cloud, wait!" The mercenary stopped, looking back at Astrid. She walked forward, shaking her head, "Do not fight Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo without help, and don't search any more into this 'Mother' thing. Alright?"

Cloud frowned, "Why?"

"Can't you tell?" She asked, her eyes widening, "Can't you see him in their eyes?"

Cloud stared at her for a moment longer, then turned and walked out the door, shouting over his shoulder, "Good luck, Astrid."

She ran to the door, shouting after him, "Don't fight them without us!" She watched him until he rode off, turning back into the room and shutting the door with a sigh. Astrid glared at Rufus, "Why didn't you tell him?"

Rufus, Reno and Rude stared at her, the president asking, "You know?"

"As if I couldn't." Astrid rolled her eyes, "Silver hair, mako eyes, and constant references to 'Mother'… Who else could they be but remnants of Jenova?"

"Cloud hasn't noticed." Rude said, frowning.

Astrid shook her head and sighed, "Cloud has only ever seen them between sword clashes at one hundred and twenty miles an hour. On top of that…" She shook her head, "He's still grieving."

"Jeez, that guy sure can hold on, can't he?" Reno asked, scratching his head.

"I guess that's something he and I have in common." Astrid said blandly, quirking a brow and crossing her arms.

Reno blinked and coughed, looking away.

Astrid sighed and shook her head, then frowned as a thought struck her, "Hey… where are Tseng and Elena?"

Rude and Reno looked away, and even Rufus lowered his eyes.

Astrid knew then that something was wrong.

"Where are they." This time, it wasn't a question.

"…At the Northern Crater," Rufus began, still looking at the ground, "Something… happened." He looked up at her and frowned, "Something with those 'polite boys'. We haven't seen them since." He paused, his frown deepening. "When did you meet them?"

"Today." She answered distractedly, thinking about Tseng and Elena, "We met not long before they fought Cloud. And they were polite… to me, at least." She looked at him and frowned, "They called me 'sister' and told me I was still invited to the Reunion."

"…Still invited…" Rufus frowned, "I don't like the sound of that."

"Rufus, what do you know about their search for Jenova?" Astrid asked, "Why do they still feel her presence? I thought we destroyed her?"

"You did." Rufus nodded, "They're wrong. We didn't find anything in the Northern Crater, so they can't be sensing anything."

Astrid frowned, "Then how did they come back if there isn't something left?"

Rufus frowned, taking a moment to answer, "Whatever there was left, if anything, was obviously used up making them. If it hadn't been, then they wouldn't be searching."

Astrid nodded, unable to deny the logic in it. Still…

"Don't think about it too hard." Rufus said, smirking at her, "You'll make the wrinkles on your forehead deeper."

She blinked, her eyebrows raising, "Excuse me?"

"Nothing." Rufus said, chuckling and waving her off, "Nothing at all."

"Fine, if you say so." Astrid turned and walked to the door, opening it.

"Where are you going?"

She turned back to Rufus and shrugged, "I've kinda been negligent in keeping in contact with Tifa. She worries enough as it is, so I thought I'd go see her. I'll be back soon enough." She pulled a PHS out of her pocket, waving it and quirking a brow, "I still have this if you need anything."

"Don't be long." Rufus said, frowning, "I don't like the fact that Kadaj and his gang are so interested in you."

"Jealous?" Astrid smirked, "Don't worry; I don't like men younger than me."

"I'm serious, Astrid." Rufus growled, glaring at her, "If anything happens, call here immediately. When you're done, come back immediately. Don't be gone longer than you have to."

Astrid rolled her eyes, "I'll be fine. I have Misha and I'm stronger than I look."

"You'll also have Dark Nation. Take her with you." Rufus said, nodding.

"Don't you think she should stay with you?" Astrid asked, "She's your daughter, after all. She needs to spend some time with her father."

He shook his head, "She'll understand. Go on, and remember to be back quickly."

She rolled her eyes and walked out the door, waving a hand over her shoulder, "Yes, o mighty overlord of my soul. I shalt obey thine wishes on the wings of the swiftest of chocobos."

Rufus frowned after her, shaking his head, "Why do I bother?"

"Because you two are inexplicably and constantly drawn to each other." Rude answered, smirking slightly.

Reno blinked and looked at his fellow, smiling, "Hey! Rude cracked a grin! Cool!"

Rufus moaned and smacked his head, "Now I remember; she's saner than the rest of you."

………

At the bottom of the stairs, Astrid knelt beside Dark Nation and patted her head, "Hon, could you stay here and keep an eye on Rufus for me?"

The hellcat licked Astrid's cheek and purred.

Astrid smiled, hugging the cat, "Thanks, Dark." She stood and walked over to Misha, mounting the chocobo and grabbing the reins, "Let's go, Misha. We're long overdue for a visit to Edge. And what do you say we take the off-road route, eh?"

The chocobo threw her back and warked loudly, dashing into the forest.

Coniferous trees were reduced to green blurs as they past through the glades at breakneck speed, the chocobo happy to be in one of her two greatest elements.

It all past too quickly, though, and soon they were on the grasslands, which quickly dissipated to the rocky terrain.

Midgar closed in, then past as the chocobo ran in a curve around the abandoned city and headed for the smaller city behind it; the city of Edge.


	5. Violence Escalates

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(Violence Escalates)

Seventh Heaven was empty, leaving Astrid standing in front of it with her hands on her hips and a confused look on her face.

'Now where on Gaia…'

"They went to the flower place."

Astrid spun around to face an alley, her hand flying to the gun at her waist. Upon hearing a small squeak, though, and seeing the small shadow in the alley, she dropped her hand and knelt, smiling into the shadows.

"It's alright; I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

The shadow hesitated, then emerged, forming a small boy with dark hair and brown eyes.

Astrid's smile widened and she nodded, "That's right, it's fine. Come on out. My name is Astrid."

"Kale." The boy said, stepping out further and inching closer to her. He stopped about three feet away.

"Smart boy." Astrid said kindly, "Don't trust people you don't know, right? Your parents teach you that?"

"I don't know." Kale said, looking at his feet, "I don't really remember Mom and Dad. They died when the big mountain came down."

Astrid blinked. "Oh…" She then smiled to the boy, "Hey, you hungry? 'Cause I am, and I know that it's almost lunchtime. You want to come with me and we can talk about the people who live here?" She nodded back at Seventh Heaven.

Kale thought about it, then looked at her and smiled, nodding, "Okay!"

"Let's go, then." She stood and held out her hand.

He stared at it for a moment, looking back at his feet.

Astrid frowned slightly, "What's wrong, Kale? It's just a hand."

Kale didn't say anything, but held up his hand. Astrid's eyes widened. It was pale and splotched with black sores. 'He has Geostigma…'

Without thinking about it, Astrid reached out and took his hand, smiling at him when he looked at her in shock. "I'm not afraid." She said, smiling, "I have a friend who has that, so I know. Now, let's go eat."

The boy smiled at her, squeezing her hand and walking alongside her as she led him to a nearby outdoor restaurant.

………

Dark Nation walked up the steps and lay down in front of the door, sighing deeply. Then, a wind blew in from the north and she sniffed, her head jerking up and her nose sniffing the air again. A deep growl sounded in the back of her throat, her eyes burning bright blue.

………

"They went to the old cathedral, eh?" Astrid asked, biting into a hamburger, "Well, I can see them doing that if they were looking for Cloud."

Kale nodded, pouring ketchup over his food happily, "Marlene said that Cloud isn't around a lot anymore. That he's sad that someone he loved a lot went back to the Lifestream." He stopped, looking up at Astrid with curious eyes, "Do you think my Mom and Dad went back to the Lifestream?"

Astrid choked down her food, taking a drink before she answered hoarsely, "I'm sure they did. After all," She coughed, clearing her throat, "Everyone does when their time comes."

"Has anyone you loved gone back to the Lifestream?"

It was an innocent enough question, but it hit Astrid hard.

She didn't show it, though, and smiled at the boy, "Yeah. Someone I loved very much went back to the Lifestream."

Kale looked back at his food and ate silently.

When they were done, Astrid paid the bill and they walked out together, the boy immediately being snatched up by one of his friends and drug into the alley.

"Thanks, Astrid!" Kale shouted.

"You're welcome, Kale!" She shouted back. Astrid wandered back to Seventh Heaven and mounted Misha, turning her towards Midgar, "Looks like that's our next destination."

………

Dark Nation stood slowly and growled deeply at the person walking slowly up the steps.

The door opened and Reno peeked his head out, looking down at the hellcat in shock, "Whoa! Dark Nation?!" He then looked to where she was growling, jumping back and shouting, "Kadaj?!"

The boy smirked at the Turk, "Hello, Reno."

………

Before Astrid could even get to the cathedral, Loz pulled up in front of her on his monster motorcycle, startling Misha.

"You sure you should be here, sister?" Loz asked, smirking at her, "I'd think you'd be back in the mountains with you're boyfriend. Kadaj went there, personally, just for that reason."

Astrid's eyes widened and she was no longer thinking of Tifa and Marlene. Now, her mind was on Rufus. She barely noticed the squirming sack on the back of Loz's bike…

"Here, take this." Loz dismounted his bike, grabbing the sack and his items, throwing a grin at Astrid, "It'll get you there faster than that chocobo would."

"You'd better not hurt her." Astrid jumped down from the bird, patting her neck quickly before running over and mounting the bike.

"Here!"

She looked up and caught a sword, looking at the long, thin black sheath confusedly.

"A gift from Mother." Loz said, scowling, "Though I don't see why she would give you one."

"Thanks." Astrid said absentmindedly, strapping the rapier to her side and starting the motorcycle. After the beast had roared to life beneath her, she spun out and took off, tearing through Midgar and exiting the city quickly. She urged the bike to go faster and faster, and it continued to oblige.

Somehow, the bike made it off-road and sped through the forest, everything passing by even faster than Misha had managed.

She pushed the bike even faster, though.

She had to get there.

She had to stop Kadaj.

She had to save Rufus.

………

"But, sir! Surely you've noticed…" Kadaj knelt before and stared him in the eye, his pupils slitting and his hair growing slightly, his face reforming.

Rufus watched in horror, his eyes widening.

"Sephir—"

He was interrupted by a large crash.

They both turned to the door, listening as something crashed up the stairs, stopping outside the door.

A scream tore through the air.

On the floor, Reno and Rude writhed.

"Astrid…"

Rufus's eyes widened, "Astrid." He turned to Kadaj, who once again looked like Kadaj, and glared, "If you hurt her—"

"Don't worry, President." Kadaj said, standing and smirking down at him, "We wouldn't dream of hurting our sister."

The door burst open and Astrid stumbled in, blood on her pants and her rapier drawn, black metal gleaming with a metallic light, pointing at the boy. "KADAJ!"

He turned and smiled to her, opening his arms, "Sister! How good to see you!"

Astrid stepped forward, stopping to look down at Reno and Rude. Sure they weren't in critical condition, she stepped over them and continued to walk towards Kadaj, her rapier held ready.

"What have you done…"

Kadaj shrugged, "What was necessary to find Mother. The President knows where she is, but he won't tell."

"Get away from him." She said, flicking her sword to the right impatiently.

Kadaj quickly obliged, smiling in recognition at the blade in her hand, "I see Loz successfully delivered Radiant Twilight." He looked at her and his smile widened, eyes searching her face, "Do you like it? Mother made it especially for you."

"It's a beautiful blade." Astrid said, walking over to Rufus's side and turning to face the boy. "I've never seen a more perfectly forged rapier."

"Mother will be happy you like it." Kadaj said, nodding.

"What are you aiming at?" Astrid asked, frowning slightly, "Why are you so polite to me? Why am I 'sister'? Why do I get…" She looked down at the sword, "Radiant Twilight?"

"Because Mother wants you to feel welcome." Kadaj smiled, "She wants you to know that you always have somewhere to go if you chose to. It is completely your choice, of course, but we would love for you to join us."

For a moment, Astrid said nothing. She then looked up at him and nodded, "Thank you, Kadaj, but there is already something you did wrong. Something that makes me never want to join."

Kadaj's eyes widened, "What?! What could I have possibly done?! Tell me, sister!"

Astrid bit her lip, tears welling up, "D-dark Nation." She looked at the door, closing her eyes and choking, "You killed her…"

"What?" Rufus breathed, looking to the door. He then stared at the blood on Astrid's knees and hands.

"I am sorry, sister." Kadaj shook his head, frowning, "Had I known the cat was yours, I never would have touched her. If there's anything I can do—"

"You can leave."

Kadaj balked and stared at her, eyes widening at the look in her eyes. She looked angry, sad, and determined.

"Leave, please." Astrid pointed to the door with the sword, "Just go."

After a moment, Kadaj nodded, "I understand, sister. You're angry… so I understand." He walked to the door, pausing and glancing back at her, "I'm sorry." He walked out.

As soon as the door was shut, Astrid ran over to Reno and Rude, running her hands over them quickly and healing them.

"Tifa's in trouble." She said as soon as they were up, "Please, go check on her. I'll stay here."

They nodded, standing and running out of the room. For a moment, Rufus and Astrid were silent.

"Dark Nation…" Astrid stood and ran out the front door, kneeling down beside the body of the hellcat.

Her black/blue eyes were wide open and staring ahead, mouth positioned in an angry roar. Her pelt was cold and damp, and her chest had been torn open. The blood was already congealing.

"I'm sorry…" Astrid hugged the cat's head to her chest, shoulders shaking, "I-I'm so sorry…"

"I told you to take her."

Astrid flinched at the calm coolness in his voice, shaking her head, "I thought she would be safer here… I never thought they would come here." She looked at him, tears running down her face, "Edge isn't a big city… but there are a lot of people. I thought it would be risky to take her."

"You should have taken her." Rufus said, glaring at her.

"You think you're the only one who cared?!" She shouted, standing and glaring at him, "For the last two years, she was all I had! You were… and the Turks…" Astrid moaned and fell back to her knees, grabbing her head, "She was all…"

They sat in silence for a moment, Astrid eventually standing and picking up the body of Dark Nation. Rufus watched silently as she carried the cat into the forest, his eyes closing when she took out her 'Earth' materia and used it to dig a shallow grave.

When she walked back, solemn and bloody, he turned his wheelchair and nodded to her, "Let's get a room set up for you; you'll be staying here."

Astrid followed him silently through the foyer, then into the main hall.

"The Healin Lodge was built under the pretense that it would be a recovery home for those suffering from Geostigma." Rufus explained, waving to the long line of doors, "And it will be… as soon as this mess with Kadaj is over. Until then, I've decided to use it as my base of operations."

"And what will be your base of operations after this?" Astrid asked, trying her best to ignore the chill she was feeling from the wet blood pasting her sweater to her chest. "Do you plan on moving back to Midgar?"

Rufus took a moment to answer, stopping at one door and opening it, "Probably not. I don't think Shin-Ra will rise again after this."

"It has to." Astrid crossed her arms, frowning down at him and not moving, "Gaia still needs Shin-Ra, Rufus."

"Then let Shin-Ra come back, but have someone else deal with the outside world." Rufus waved his hand, looking away, "I no longer want anything to do with it."

She pursed her lips and glared at him, "That's a load of shit, Rufus. The only other person really qualified to run Shin-Ra would be Reeve, and I don't think he'd be able to handle a project that big without the help of someone with the experience. He'd also need the Turks, and I don't think they'd leave your side.

"Besides!" She went on, waving her hands, "You're Rufus Shinra! As if you'd pass up the chance to rule the world!"

"I never said I wanted to quit running Shin-Ra." Rufus glared at her, "I simply meant that someone else should deal with Shin-Ra's connections with the people. And, Shin-Ra will not be 'ruling the world' anymore. We've already had our go, and we ran it into the ground. This is part of the way we'll pay back the Planet; by letting nature run its course."

Astrid rolled her eyes and groaned, "Which will put the world into a state of anarchy! And it's already happening! Have you heard from Junon?!"

Rufus turned away, "I have, and it's a terrible loss. But there's nothing I can—"

"People are being killed!" She shouted, leaning in and grabbing his armrests, "There are gangs forming, growing and ruling the streets! It'll only be a matter of time before word spreads and the rest of Gaia is under mob rule! I told you, Rufus, Gaia needs a tyranny! And, if not that, at least an oligarchy!"

"An oligarchy…" He repeated, looking at her. "Where did you learn about all of this?"

"School." She answered, standing, "The one institution I actually did well in. Now…" She looked down at herself and winced, "I'm going to take a shower and get this blood off… We can talk more about this later." She started to go through the door, then paused and turned back, sighing, "Hey, I don't have a change of clothes, so could I?—"

"I'll get you something." Rufus said, smirking.

Astrid smiled, "Thanks."


	6. That Evening

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(That Evening)

"Jeez." Astrid sighed, flopping down onto her bed and staring at the ceiling, "So much happening in one day… this is tiring." Her PHS rang and she groaned, rolling over and grabbing one off of the bedside table. 'The one Cloud gave me…' "Hello?"

"_Astrid!_" Tifa shouted, a smile in her voice, "_It's so good to hear your voice! You haven't called in so long, and Reno said that Kadaj attacked—_"

"I'm fine, Tifa." Astrid cut in, smiling, "And I'm sorry for never calling. I just… have been really busy these past years." She paused, smirking, "So, Reno and Rude made it there, then? How are you?"

Suddenly, Tifa sounded depressed, "_They took Marlene, Astrid. Kadaj and his gang took Marlene!_" Astrid froze, choking. "_Reno and Rude went out to look for any sign of her, but… I couldn't protect her…_"

"Don't blame yourself." Astrid growled, standing and punching the wall, "Damn it! I was on my way to the cathedral to see you and Loz stopped me! I went came back here, and you were right there in danger!"

"_Don't blame yourself. I shouldn't have let my guard down._" She paused, "_Listen, I have to go. Cloud's about to wake up._"

"Call me and keep me updated."

"_I will. Bye._" Click

Shutting the phone, Astrid stood and walked into the bathroom, looking at her reflection. Slightly glowing mako green eyes stared at her cynically through a curtain of brown hair, locks dropping just past her shoulders. Despite the fact that she had spent much of her time recently in the sun, she was still as pale as she had been when she had left the group, having barely tanned at all since she had first come to Gaia. Currently, she was in one of Rufus's old shirts and pair of pants, which hung from her body loosely, making her look thin and short.

"Take a good look at yourself, Astrid." She muttered, eyes flickering back and forth, "Because you're looking at the you you've become; a person who has failed twice in one day to protect those she cared for. And what do you have to show for it? Bloodstained clothes and a sword given to you by the enemy." Someone knocked on her door and she turned around, dragging her feet back into her room and flopping onto the bed. "Come in!"

The door opened and Rufus entered, leaving his wheelchair by the door and walking weakly over to her bed. "You got a call?"

"Idiot." Astrid stood and walked over to him, taking him by the waist and leading him to her bed, "Tifa called. Reno and Rude got there, and they're looking for Marlene. She was taken by Loz."

"Marlene?" Rufus asked, sitting on her bed and staring at her as she fell down beside him, "Barret Wallace's adopted daughter?"

"That's the one." She rolled onto her side and looked at him, her eyes closing slightly, "I told her to call back if anything changed, so I may end up going to help tonight."

He shook his head, leaning forward and supporting his elbows on his knees, "Not without getting some sleep, you're not. You're exhausted."

"You're not my mother." She said, though she did crawl farther onto the bed and flip onto her back, "Not like I can sleep, anyway." She blinked when Rufus leaned over her, his arms on either side on her head.

Rufus smirked down at her, "Need help?"

Astrid smirked back, "Thanks, but no thanks." She knocked his hand aside and rolled over, covering her eyes with her arm, "I think I can manage."

The bed moved as he lay down beside her, wrapping an arm around her stomach and pulling her back into his chest. "I beg to differ." He growled in her ear, making her shudder.

"Fine." She said shortly, stretching her legs out, "But nothing immoral. Technically, we aren't even back together yet."

Rufus scoffed, "What kind of man do you take me for? We're trying to get you to sleep, nothing else."

"Whatever." Astrid mumbled sleepily, "Just shut up."

Rufus chuckled, then closed his eyes.

………

Reno burst into the room, "Astrid! Have you seen!—" He stopped when he saw Rufus and Astrid lying together on the bed, the president holding her against his chest. Reno smirked and shook his head, "Ah. Hey, Rude! He's in here!"

Astrid and Rufus stirred, sitting up and glaring at the two Turks as they laughed at them.

"Was there something you wanted?" Astrid snapped, rubbing the palm of her hand against her forehead.

"Yeah, actually." Reno nodded, "Cloud went to the Forgotten Capital to find Marlene. Apparently, that's where Kadaj and his brothers have their base of operations."

"Shit." Astrid jumped out of bed and hiked up her pants, picking up a jacket off of the floor and throwing it on. "Rufus, get my phones!" She quickly strapped on her rapier, spinning around and taking the PHS's from Rufus's outstretched hands.

"You're going after him?" Rufus asked needlessly.

"Of course I am." Astrid growled, shoving the phones into her pocket, "Cloud can't fight them; he won't win in his condition." She ran to the door, nodding to the Turks as they stepped aside. She then threw a smile to Rufus, "I'll be back soon enough." And she was gone.

Outside, she ran over to Misha and mounted her, frowning as she geared the charcoal chocobo into action. 'When did Loz drop her off? …While Rufus and I were sleeping?'

The mountains and Midgar passed, and in what seemed like no time Astrid was steering Misha across the shallows of the ocean, careful not to let the limited magic of the bird's feet fall into a deep spot, least they both go tumbling into the ocean. Once they reached the shoreline, they past up Bone Village and headed straight for the Forgotten Capital.

She had almost reached the city when she was suddenly barreled into by a small body, knocking her out of the saddle and hard onto the ground.

Astrid was winded, but still managed to throw the body off and drawing Radiant Twilight. She froze, though, when she turned to look into a familiar face. "Kale?"

The boy looked at her with no visible recognition, standing slowly and staring at her blankly. His eyes shifted to look at something up the road, and Astrid gasped at what she saw in his eyes. A flash of green. Mako… or something worse.

"Sister!"

She looked at Kadaj, scowling, "What did you do to him?"

Kadaj smirked and shrugged, "I have helped them complete their ascension." His smirk grew to a smile, "They are full members of our family now."

Astrid shook her head, "They're kids, Kadaj! They have no real understanding of what's going on in this war other than the raw emotions you will them to feel! That doesn't count!"

Kadaj shrugged, waving Kale off. "Even so," The remnant said, watching the boy run off, "They can still prove of use to Mother." He then glanced at her, looking her up and down and smiling, "You, though, are special. You are apart of the privileged part of the family, yet you still aren't one of us. Come with me."

He took her hand and led her further into the forest, Misha following sulkily. They arrived a short time later at a clearing, where Loz and Yazoo were watching over more children.

"Sister." The two boys greeted, smiling and nodding to her, "Welcome."

Kadaj led her to a black pool, nodding to it and kneeling, swirling his hand in the inky black, "Drink, sister."

Astrid frowned and turned to Kadaj, "Where's Cloud?"

"He has already come and went." Kadaj said listlessly, looking up at her and blinking, "Now please, drink."

She stared at the water, backing away and frowning, "No… it's poisoned."

Kadaj laughed and shook his head, "Not 'poisoned', sister. 'Purified'. This water has been purified by Mother's will."

Astrid took another step back.

Seeing this, Kadaj sighed, "I see… You will not willingly join us, then." He frowned, "I had been hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this, but you give me no choice…"

As he finished speaking, pain shot through her hand and up her arm, passing her elbow and spreading to her shoulder. Astrid pitched forward, falling onto her knees and clutching her arm. She screamed when she looked at it. It was her sword arm, and a black substance was spreading from the hilt all the way up her arm. She screamed again.

"I didn't want to do it this way, sister." Kadaj said calmly over her screams, kneeling down in front of her, "I would have liked to have kept your will intact, but we don't have any more time to spend waiting on you to join us. The Reunion is approaching, and we need your help; you, 'Phantasmagoria Illustrate', and the Book." He reached out and touched her face, more black spreading from beneath his fingertips and across her skin.

The black consumed her, almost swallowing her completely. It spread from her head and right shoulder down her body. It had almost reached her abdomen when—

"Stop!"

There where gunshots and then Kadaj's hand flew away from her face, the boy falling back and screaming.

Astrid fell onto the ground, catching a flash of red before she was consumed in black, a last thought going through her mind. 'No… the black… has spread to my eyes…'

………

Her mind was foggy, but she knew it was because she was waking up. She stirred.

"You shouldn't have gone."

She flinched, taking a moment to remember the voice.

"And you definitely shouldn't have used that sword."

Astrid opened her eyes and sat up, staring into the forest in front of her listlessly. "I couldn't. It was all I had."

"You put too much faith in them." He stepped out of the trees and crossed his arms, glaring at her, "You knew that they were the brothers of Sephiroth, yet you still trusted them."

She looked away from him, bringing her legs up to her chest, "It wasn't a matter of trust, Vincent. I couldn't help it." She looked at him, "When I first saw them, I knew. I knew I could never lie to them. They know me and my mind too well for that. I knew they could see me, so I couldn't help but let them in. No… not even that. They were already in."

Vincent frowned and stepped forward, "How?"

"The same way Marcus was, I think." She looked at him and frowned, "I think they have a mental connection with me."

"You can hear their thoughts?"

Astrid shook her head, "No, not exactly. More like, I get the gist of what they're thinking."

Vincent's brow furrowed, "And what about them? Do they 'get the gist' of what you're thinking?"

"I don't know." She admitted, looking away, "But I do think that the connection is more sophisticated on their end."

Vincent shook his head and turned away, "You should go back to Rufus and hide. Don't come out until this all blows over."

Astrid shook her head, "I can't do that. I need to help."

"Look at your arm, Astrid." She did, her eyes widening at what she saw. Vincent explained as she lifted her wet, blackened sleeve and looked at her arm, "It's a backlash effect from Kadaj not being able to finish his job. There's still some of your body left to fight the infection, so you now have Geostigma, and a very advanced case of it."

Astrid winced, covering her pustule-covered arm back up and looking away.

"Go back to Rufus." Vincent said, walking into the forest, "Go and hide. When they're gone, we'll work on finding a cure."

"Don't you get it Vincent? They are the cure."

But he was already gone.

………

As Astrid rode through the forest, she looked down at her phones.

First, her Shin-Ra phone. "_You have four new messages._"

Rufus. "_Astrid, where the hell are you? Cloud called an hour ago and told me what happened, but I still haven't heard from you. …Call me._"

Reno. "_Uh, Astrid? You might wanna call soon. I haven't seen Rufus this mad in a while._"

Reno. "_Aaaaaastriiiid… Where are you?! Rufus isn't the only one worried now, and things are getting weird in Edge. Call soon, alright?_"

Rude. "_Astrid. Something serious has happened in Edge. Find us when you can-_" Static and voices, "_No, you idiot!_" (Reno) "_Give me that!_" (Rufus) "_Astrid, do not come to Edge! Go to Healin and wait for us._"

"_End of final message._"

Astrid frowned and kicked Misha into a higher gear, taking out her other phone.

"_You have two new messages._"

Tifa. "_Astrid, we need help! Come to Edge as soon as you can!_"

Kadaj. "_Hello, sister. You might want to come soon. We got the Book for you, and we're waiting. It's finally time._"

Astrid shut the phone and shoved it into her pocket, leaning forward. "Faster, Misha! To Edge!"

The chocobo threw her charcoal head back and warked loudly, digging her talons into the ground and shooting forward.

As they rode harder, the pain in her arm and chest flared. And the harder they rode, the more the pain spread. Astrid sunk her teeth into her lip, swallowing the tangy blood and focusing on the fresh pain to keep herself sane.


	7. Battle

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

Okay, so DragonessWarrior has done me a tremendous favor in pointing out something in this chapter. I call 'Bahamut SIN' 'Bahamut TREMOR' because, according to some resources I've been using, the 'SHIN' to 'SIN' was a mistranslation and it should have been 'TREMOR'. I just wanted to stick with what the original writers wanted... Sorry about that. Should have put that in sooner.

Thank you, DragonessWarrior!

(Battle)

Edge was in turmoil. People were running left and right, trying to escape whatever was going on in the plaza. There were roars and screams, and then there was the sound of tearing flesh.

When she couldn't ride Misha any further into the crowd, Astrid stood in the saddle and jumped onto a fire escape, climbing over the railing and up the ladder. From the top of the building, she ran to the edge and looked down into the plaza, staring in confusion down at the children forming a circle around the monument of Meteor.

"Denzel!" Astrid heard Tifa's voice shouting in the crowd, eyes focusing in on a woman pushing her way towards the monument and running to one of the children. "Denzel!" She shook his shoulders, "Denzel!"

Frowning, Astrid looked to the other side of the monument, where Loz and Yazoo were being confronted by Reno and Rude.

There were screams and Astrid looked to where Tifa was, about to jump down when she saw the woman was cornered by one of the dark hounds. She had braced her feet against the ledge and was tensing to jump when she felt a spike of something in the back of her mind. Obeying her instincts, she turned her head to look at a nearby building, eyes widening when she saw Rufus confronting Kadaj.

"Damn…" She looked between Rufus, Tifa, and the Turks, frowning, "Where do I…"

Then, Kadaj lifted his hand and shot an orb of green light to the sky. There was a great roar, and a huge summon descended from the sky, heading straight for the monument.

"Looks like that question has been answered for me." She moved to jump again.

'_No, sister! Come! You are needed._'

Astrid's mind was wiped of everything, and she was suddenly clueless on what was going on and why she was about to jump off of a building.

'_You aren't going to, sister. I need you to come to me._'

The name came to her mind quickly, leaving her lips without her even trying, "Kadaj." She may not have known what she was doing, but she knew she had to go to him. She had to listen to him.

Astrid turned and jumped to where the voice had come from, launching herself from one building and landing on the next. She didn't even find it strange or shocking that under normal circumstances, that feat would have been far beyond her reach. She was only thinking of Kadaj.

She finally landed on his building, walking over to him, "Brother."

Kadaj looked away from the man he was talking to, smiling to her, "Hello, sister. So good of you to join us." When she reached them, he raised a hand and pointed to the man in the white suit and the wheelchair, "Sister, this is the President; the man who is hiding Mother from us."

Astrid nodded and looked at the man, "Charmed. Now, where is Mother?"

The President gapped at her, "Astrid?"

She frowned, "Have we met?"

They were interrupted by a roar and they all turned to watch the giant dragon descend upon the city.

"Bahamut TREMOR seems to be having fun." Astrid said wryly, grinning.

Kadaj nodded, "That he is." He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a materia, holding it out to her, "Would you mind keeping an eye on him? He's supposed to be digging out that statue in the center of the plaza and looking for Mother."

Astrid nodded, taking the materia and putting it on the bangle on her wrist, "I'll do that." She nodded to Kadaj again, threw a look the President's way, then walked over to the edge of the building, jumping down onto a lower building and looking down into the plaza.

Bahamut TREMOR was digging away at the monument, tearing it apart piece by piece.

"Dig around the base." Astrid murmured, blinking, "Uproot it and throw it all to the side. Mother is probably buried underneath."

Despite the fact that the beast was so far away and she had barely spoken, Bahamut TREMOR obeyed immediately, shifting his focus to the ground around the statue and digging up pounds of dirt at a time.

She watched it work for a bit, scowling when a group of people challenge Bahamut TREMOR to a battle.

"Kill them. They are impeding the search for Mother."

Bahamut TREMOR roared and lashed out, making the group dodge.

What started as a small group of only three people grew dramatically in a matter of moments, and suddenly there were a total of eight people fighting the summon.

"Destroy all of them. Show no mercy."

The dragon was about to attack one of the females when a man with a giant sword flew at him, his blade slicing the dragon in his side and knocking him back.

Astrid scowled, "Fly above and dive-bomb them. They won't be able to counter that."

Bahamut TREMOR obeyed, roaring and soaring into the sky, circling the plaza and charging his energies.

Hearing Kadaj scream angrily behind her, Astrid turned and walked away, muttering, "Do whatever you must to kill them. I'll be back." She ran across the rooftop and jumped back up the skeleton building, frowning when she saw Kadaj and the President pitching over the side of the building, shooting at each other. "Brother!"

She ran to the edge and looked down, watching as they fell, still shooting. There was a screech and she turned, watching as Bahamut TREMOR fell from the sky, disintegrating.

"Bahamut!" There was a blast from below and she looked down, eyes widening when Kadaj shot a blast of energy at the President, screaming, "BROTHER!" Angry and torn, she turned to the plaza when Bahamut TREMOR screeched again, jumping off of the buildings and landing between the beast and the party that had defeated him.

They looked at her in shock, "ASTRID?!"

She stood, drawing her sword and glaring at them, "You will pay for impeding our search for Mother!"

One of the people, a girl with a giant shuriken, stumbled backwards dramatically and screamed, "WHAT?!"

Ignoring her, Astrid glanced back at Bahamut TREMOR, frowning as he disappeared completely. She then turned back and glared at them again, "You'll regret that!" She drew her gun and held it out, shouting, "Arise, Bahamut ZERO!"

The party stared at her, then crouched into battle positions.

"Astrid, no!"

She turned, frowning as another group, this one consisting of four people in blue suits and the President, ran into the plaza, shouting at her.

"Don't do it, Astrid!"

Astrid tightened her grips on her sword and gun and roared, "WHY DOES EVERYONE KNOW MY NAME?!" There was another roar from above and Bahamut ZERO descended, his gigantic form taking up much of the sky.

"Sister!"

Astrid froze and looked, blinking when Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo rode up beside her on their motorcycles.

"Let's go!" Kadaj shouted, holding up a black box, "We have Mother! It's time!"

She nodded and sheathed her sword, running to them. Letting the summon dissipate, she slung her leg over Kadaj's motorcycle and slid on behind him, clutching the machine tightly with her legs and turning to point her gun back at the people in the plaza. It was only when they had picked up speed and were flying down a highway that she turned back around and grabbed Kadaj around the waist; one hand still holding her gun.

There was the roar of yet another motorcycle and one of the people from the plaza, the blonde man with the large sword, appeared beside them suddenly, his blade swinging at them.

Loz drove up beside them and held out his arm, blocking the blow with Dual Hound.

"Go and finish the ascension!" Yazoo shouted, driving up on the other side of them and shooting above their heads, "We'll take care of him!"

Kadaj nodded and sped ahead, taking a separate exit as Loz, Yazoo, and the blonde man descended into a tunnel.

"Sister!" Kadaj shouted, glancing back at her, "Reach into the bag behind you!"

Nodding, Astrid turned and turned, digging around in a leather bag until she felt something familiar. She pulled out the Book, smiling excitedly to Kadaj, "Brother!"

He smiled, "A gift! Welcome to the family at last!" He faced forward again, leaning closer to the bike and speeding up, "Use it to defend me if they come so I can finish the ascension!"

Astrid leaned forward with him, pressing the Book between his back and her chest, "Alright!"

They pulled to a stop in front of a church, Kadaj getting off of the motorcycle and walking inside. Astrid followed him.

"Wouldn't it be great irony," He said as they walked, looking down at the black box, "To first destroy his sanctuary?"

Astrid nodded, "It would."

Kadaj turned to her and smiled, "Watch closely, sister. I'm going to bring Mother back." He opened and box and looked down, his eyes widening. "No…"

Astrid stepped closer, her breath hitching in her chest.

It was Mother's head, but it had been drained of all fluids. Nothing was left but a dry husk.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kadaj screamed, clutching the box to his chest, "MOTHER!"

There was an explosion behind them and they looked to the door, where the blonde man had crashed through on his motorcycle. Kadaj glared at him and threw a blast of magic, knocking over a pillar and blocking the man's path.

"Let's go, sister!" They both jumped through the window and ran around front, mounting the motorcycle.

The blonde man was on the ground, now, pitched over with his arm showing, severely injured and blackened by Geostigma. Then, rain started to fall, dousing the entire area.

Kadaj and Astrid winced, the boy revving his motorcycle and speeding off.

Astrid frowned as they rode, staring down at her arm and pulling her sleeve up. Her arm, which had earlier been black like the man's, was now healthy and pink.

A short time later, Kadaj stopped his bike and dismounted, climbing a mountain of rubble. Unsure, Astrid held onto the Book and climbed after him.

"Brother." When he didn't answer, she frowned, "Kadaj!"

"What?!" He snapped.

She frowned, "What do we do, know? Where are we going?"

"We're going to begin the Reunion when he gets here." Kadaj said, looking down at the box, "We won't need more than this." There was the roar of a motorcycle and they both looked down, Kadaj smiling at the blonde man. "Brother! I am with her at last!"

The blonde man scowled and jumped, making it to where they were in a single bound. "So what's going to happen now?"

Kadaj's smile grew, "Heh, Mother's going to tell me."

The man shrugged nonchalantly, "I guess a remnant wouldn't really know."

Kadaj shrugged back, glancing down at the box, "So what if I'm a puppet? Once upon a time…" He charged his magic, glaring at Cloud, "You were, too!" He drew Souba, charging the man.

Astrid stumbled backwards, watching them fight. There was a loud drone overhead and she looked up, eyes widening at the airship floating in the sky. Something crackled and a voice, gruff and male, screamed.

"_Damn it, Astrid, get out of there!_"

She just glared at the airship, clutching the Book closer to herself.

"_What the hell's gotten into you?! Why are you helping them?!_"

"They're my brothers! Why wouldn't I help them?!" She screamed back.

Another voice, this one female, said back, "_No, Astrid! Marcus was your brother! Kadaj and his gang, they aren't! They're remnants of the man who __killed__ your brother!_"

Astrid lowered her head and stared at her feet, "You don't know what you're talking about." She looked back up and screamed, "They're the only ones who really know me!"

"_No, Astrid, they're not._" A calm, male voice said, this one emanating from another point. She turned and looked at the helicopter that flew up, the President hanging out the door and looking down at her, speaking through a microphone, "_I am._"

Kadaj landed beside her heavily, bleeding profusely and falling to his knees. He grinned at her, though, saying, "They're lying, sister. We are the only ones who know you… who really know you." He then turned to the blonde man as he approached, his eyes narrowing, "My Reunion… Bet you're dying to watch…" Kadaj stood as best he could, turning and running towards the nearest ledge. He jumped, shoving the box to his chest.

The blonde man ran to the ledge, jumping after him.

Kadaj landed on another building and turned to the blonde man, but it wasn't Kadaj. It was him.

Sephiroth.


	8. End of One Battle

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(End of One Battle…)

Astrid watched as Sephiroth and the blonde man, whose name Sephiroth said as 'Cloud', fought fiercely.

When they landed, Cloud shouted, "What do you want?!"

Sephiroth smirked and replied calmly, "The last thoughts of Geostigma are dead. Those remnants will join the Lifestream and girdle the planet— choking it, corroding it. What I want, Cloud, is to sail the darkness of the cosmos with this Planet as my vessel—just as my Mother did before long ago." He raised his hand, the sky above turning black, "Then one day we'll find a new planet and on its soil we'll create a shining future." He glanced at Astrid and smirked, "And Astrid will make that all the easier with her special ability, won't you, sister?"

She froze, feeling all eyes on her.

Sephiroth nodded encouragingly, "Show them, sister. Show them the full potential of 'Phantasmagoria Illustrate'."

Astrid nodded, opening the Book to a blank page and closing her eyes, holding one arm out straight at her side.

"_**And the Planet shook with the voices of the Remnants, crying out in awe and joy as they watched their Mother's dreams realized; the Rebirth and Rise of the Great Sephiroth.**"_

As she spoke, the ground beneath them shook with great ferocity, but she rose off of the ground, held up by an unseen force, and continued.

"**_The people watched in horror as the Black spread, covering their cities and lands in great sheets of Void. They shivered and froze where they stood, unable to fight the cold grip of Jenova in their veins._**"

"Stop!" Cloud shouted, shaking as his veins turned black, "Astrid, STOP!"

She fell back to the ground and opened her eyes, the tremors ceasing and Cloud's veins loosing the black coloring. Astrid looked to Sephiroth nervously.

He nodded, smiling at her, "That was well done, sister." He turned to Cloud, "I will use these powers at my disposal and seek out another planet, making it a utopia Mother would be proud of."

"What about this planet?" Cloud asked, scowling.

Sephiroth shrugged, "Well, that's up to you, Cloud." They flew at each other again, resuming the battle.

When entire sections of the buildings began to fall, the helicopter landed on Astrid's building and the President stepped out, waving to her.

"Astrid! Let's go!"

Astrid stood where she was, staring between the helicopter and Sephiroth.

"Go, sister." Sephiroth said as he and Cloud landed beside her, exchanging blows, "You'll be safer there. You're of no use to me dead."

Nodding, she ran to the helicopter, taking the President's hand and jumping inside. He held her close to him as they took off, silently hugging her. She was largely uncomfortable with this, seeing as she didn't really know him beyond the fact that he was 'the President', yet another, smaller part of her found it comfortable; familiar. It was this part of her that overpowered her judgment on the position, so she remained where she was; in his arms, watching the battle below through the glass.

Cloud and Sephiroth devastated the battlefield, slicing whole chunks of buildings away with little effort and using them as weapons against each other; even as smaller battle areas at some points.

There were times when Sephiroth seemed to be saying things to Cloud, but the thick glass and the roar of the helicopter blades prevented Astrid from hearing anything. And, truthfully, she wasn't too keen on hearing, either.

It soon happened that Sephiroth seemed to be overpowering Cloud, and this lasted for a short time before something happened within Cloud and he stopped Sephiroth's attacks completely. She watched in shock as something happened within Cloud and his strength doubled.

Sephiroth flew back as this change took place, but it made no difference. Cloud swung his sword forward and let go of it, its components breaking as it flew and each piece separating into hundreds of smaller swords. Cloud followed his swords, taking each one one, twice, several times and attacking Sephiroth with each blade.

When the Limit Break was complete, Cloud landed on the ground and stared up at Sephiroth, saying something Astrid opened the helicopter door to hear.

"Stay where you belong… in my memories."

Sephiroth, who was dangling in the air like a marionette, smirked slightly, "I will… never be a memory." And with that, he was enclosed within his one black wing, which faded away a moment later to reveal a beaten Kadaj.

The helicopter landed as the boy fell and Astrid shot out, "KADAJ!"

She ran to Cloud and took the boy from his arms, laying him down on the ground and charging her shaking hands with magic. She ran them over his body repeatedly, focusing all of her will on 'Cure3'.

She heard footfalls run up behind her and she knew both groups were standing there, watching her.

"Astrid, what are you doing?!"

Astrid didn't answer, continuing to run her hands over Kadaj. "Damn it, wake up!"

"Astrid, stop."

"NO!" She jumped to her feet and spun around, drawing her sword and pointing it at Cloud, "I'll fight you myself! You're not taking him away! I won't loose another brother!"

There was a shot and a bullet tore through Cloud's shoulder.

They all turned to see Loz and Yazoo standing at the other end of the building, the boys leaning against each other for support.

Yazoo dropped his gun, "Ugh… We'll all… go together…" He fell limp at Loz's side.

Loz grinned, "Together… we'll play…"

"LOZ! YAZOO!" Astrid dropped her sword and ran to them, pushing their arms aside as they raised them to attack. "Stop, damn it!" She pushed them to the ground and started healing them, her bloody hands trembling even more than before.

"Why are you doing this?!" Tifa screamed, "They're not even your brothers! They're remnants!"

"They're like Marcus!" Astrid screamed back, standing and spinning to face them, "And I won't fail them like I did him! They need me, and kin or not, that's good enough for me!" She then fell back down by the boy's sides, continuing to heal them.

For a time, the area was silent.

Then, Cloud was standing beside her, kneeling and setting down Kadaj, "It'll be easier if they're all in one area."

Astrid looked up at him and smiled, "Thanks, Cloud." She turned to Kadaj and started healing him.

Kadaj's eye opened and he looked at her, "Sister… your Geostigma was healed… You aren't one of the ascended anymore."

"It was never about Jenova." Astrid muttered, switching from Kadaj to Loz, "It was about you three."

"But we're apart of her, sister." Yazoo said, coughing up a bit of blood, "And we must obey her call."

She continued to heal them, silent.

"Sister." Kadaj grabbed her arm when she came to him and he looked at her seriously, "Stop."

Astrid stared at him, "But…" When he coughed and a wound on his chest reopened, she leaned forward. "Kadaj!"

He held out a hand, "No, sister. This is how it has to be."

Loz and Yazoo nodded, "We failed Mother… it's only right we pay."

"Besides," Kadaj grinned at her, "We wouldn't fit in in this world, anyway."

"Let's go, brothers." Yazoo said wistfully, closing his eyes, "Mother is waiting."

They all closed their eyes, their bodies beginning to break apart.

"Kadaj, no!" She leaned forward and tried to grab him, but he was intangible to her.

"Loz! Loz!!" He opened his eyes slightly and glanced at her, then shut them again.

"YAZOO!" He smirked.

"It's not your fault, sister." Kadaj said, reaching out and, summoning his strength, grabbing her hand, "Just let us go."

She stared at him, crying as they continued to break apart.

Kadaj squeezed her hand, "Later, sister."

And they were gone.

………

Astrid smiled as she watched the children jump into the water, splashing around and celebrating as their Geostigma was healed. After a few moments, she turned and walked out the door, stopping when Cloud called out to her.

"Catch."

She reached out and caught the glittering green orb, looking at Cloud in confusion.

"The 'Teleport' materia he used to bring you here." Cloud called, nodding to her, "Thought you might want it."

She looked at it, then looked back to Cloud and nodded, smiling, "Thanks."

"Don't be a stranger, kid!" Cid called, waving to her.

"Yeah, 'cause if you do, we'll have to hunt you down!" Cait Sith shouted, "And I know where to find you!"

"We're worried about you when you disappear, so please don't do it anymore." Red XIII smiled.

Vincent just nodded to her, smirking.

Astrid smiled and shook her head, "Don't worry, things are going to be different now. I can feel it." Waving to them, she turned and walked out the door, hopping into the helicopter waiting for her a few paces away.

"Hey, Elena. Tseng." She hugged the two Turks, smiling, "I missed you guys."

"Same here." Elena smiled, nodding, "Sorry we didn—"

"I know, I know." Astrid waved her off, rolling her eyes, "Nothing I haven't heard a thousand times over from the other three." She threw Rufus a look as she sat down by him, "Though not as much from this one."

Rufus shrugged, smirking, "Why should I have to if it's already being emphasized by everyone else?" He nodded to Reno, who started the helicopter and steered it into the air.

"So, where to?" Reno called over the microphone, glancing back.

"Healin."

"Edge."

Rufus looked at Astrid and frowned, "Edge?"

Astrid nodded, "There are a lot of kids who still have Geostigma, Rufus. They're going to need as much help as they can get."

"But there's a cure now." Rufus said, his frown deepening, "Cloud and the others can just take them to get it."

"Ah, but where will they all go? Most of them don't have parents." Astrid leaned back, smiling, "And I do believe Healin has the proper facilities to house quite a few children…"

"No." Rufus's eyes widened, "You are not bringing children to the Lodge. We're living there right now."

Astrid rolled her eyes, "Which makes it all the better. We can't leave a whole bunch of kids there without adult supervision… we're going to need to be there. Besides," She grinned at him, "Think of it as a way to get back on Gaia's good side."

"Leave that to Reeve! I'm a business man!"

She shrugged, "Then why not sell Healin to Reeve and let him use it as a shelter for the kids? Then, you can fund him like you have been doing and he can add on entire wings." She closed her eyes and smiled, "Think about it. Healin could become a sanctuary for all of the children of Gaia who need somewhere to go."

Rufus scratched the back of his head, "Sure, maybe later, but not right now! We have no where else to go!"

"Of course not right now, but not too much later." Astrid frowned, "Those kids need a home, and there's no healthier environment then a cabin in the woods, secluded from fuel emissions and nestled away safely from beasts."

"You're going to be adamant about this, aren't you?" Rufus asked, sighing.

Astrid smiled, "Yep. I am."

"Great." Rufus sighed, glaring at her, "You're going to make an annoying wife."

She blinked and stared at him, then smiled and nodded, "Damn straight." Astrid leaned back, crossing her arms, "But not for a while. You're going to have to work for it and do it proper. This is not how I want to remember your proposal."

Rufus scoffed and rolled his eyes, smirking, "Who said anything about your suitor being me? I could have been making a reference to your marriage to another man."

"And if I married another man, who would you marry?" Astrid asked, quirking a brow, "I can't think of any other willing females who would be crazy enough to let you court them."

The Turks rolled their eyes and smiled. 'It's good to see those two back together again.'

"So, I never got a straight answer." Reno said, "Edge or Healin?"

"Healin." Astrid said, leaning back and closing her eyes, "I just realized I'm really tired… I need some sleep before I start worrying about anyone other than myself."

Reno shook his head and laughed, "You got it."

The helicopter fell into a weary silence.

Astrid opened her eyes and looked around, grinning when she saw Elena asleep, leaning against Tseng's arm while he stared ahead, content.

Her own eyes became heavy and she leaned her head back, Rufus poking her in no time.

"Let's go, Astrid. We're here."

Mumbling incoherently, Astrid stumbled out of the helicopter and through the back door of the lodge. Following Rufus tiredly, she let him gently push her into a room and collapsed on the bed, kicking her shoes off and sliding her jacket halfway down her arms before her energy was spent and she started dozing off.

She was awoken a second later by Rufus pulling her jacket off all the way, then pulling his pants and shirt off of her and slipping her into another shirt and a pair of sweats.

"Pervert…" She muttered, earning a chuckle from the man. When there was a sudden warm spot beside her, though, she shuffled closer to it and latched on, sighing contently when the warmth wrapped around her.

"Goodnight, Astrid."

"Mmmmhmhm. Nigh', Rufus."

* * *

Bah, screw that ending! That's not a good ending at all! So, I've come to a conclusion; I'm going to continue! Bwahahahahahahah! ...Just... give me a bit to formulate a good plan.

Also, a suggestion has been made for a 'Dirge of Cerberus' fic, leading me to one conclusion...

I MUST NOW BUY 'DIRGE OF CERBREUS'!! WAL-MART, HERE I COME!


	9. Beginning of Another

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(…Beginning of Another)

Astrid woke early the next morning, pulling herself out of Rufus's arms and walking into the bathroom. Stripping her clothes off, she turned the shower on as hot as she could stand it and crawled in, lying on the floor of the shower and letting the hot water cascade across her body.

She watched the glass fog lazily, her mind replaying scenes of events that had occurred over the past few days.

'Hard to imagine that only three days ago I didn't even know if Rufus was still alive…' She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, 'I wonder if we're taking this too fast.' She opened her eyes, frowning, 'Rufus Shinra… wow… this is weird.' She sighed and rolled onto her side, 'I'm in a relationship with Rufus Shinra… a character from a videogame. I wonder if I'm a game character, too. ...Probably not. Just a victim of circumstance.'

The door opened and someone walked in, their silhouette stopping in front of the sink. The sink was turned on and the water in the shower got a bit colder.

Astrid frowned, "Thank Gaia for frosted glass."

Rufus laughed, his silhouette turning slightly to face the glass, "You alright, in there?"

"Fine." Astrid snapped, glaring at him, "Now please get out and wait. This is extremely awkward and completely improper… but more annoying than anything."

The water turned off and Rufus scoffed, "As you wish, Miss Cray." He walked out, the door shutting hard behind him.

Astrid stared after him, blinking. 'Wow… that was real bitchy of me…' She rolled onto her back, shrugging, 'Oh well, he'll get over it.'

Twenty minutes later, Astrid turned the water off and walked out of the shower, throwing on a bathrobe. She was towel drying her hair when someone knocked on the door.

"Go away, Rufus. I'm still busy!"

"It's me. Elena." The door opened slightly and a hand stuck inside, offering a bundle of clothes, "These are for you. I figured Rufus's stuff was a bit too big for you."

"Thanks." Astrid took the clothes, shaking Elena's hand slightly, "Tell him I'll be out in a bit."

"You got it." The hand retreated and the door shut, Elena staying a moment longer to say, "Though he may not really care; he's a bit sore with you right now."

"Don't blame 'em." Astrid said, pulling a plastic pack out of the bundle and looking at it closely, "I was a bit rude. Tell him anyway, though."

Elena walked away without another word.

Blinking, Astrid flipped the plastic pack over and over again in her hands, shaking her head.

_Travel Pack Underwear: For The Outdoorsy Girl _

_Brought to you by: Shin-Ra_

'What will they think of next?' She thought, pulling out the underwear, bra, and socks the magical plastic bag provided.

The clothes Elena had brought turned out to be one of Elena's spare Turk suits, shoes included.

Once she was dressed, Astrid threw the bathrobe and towel in the hamper and left the bathroom, heading for the foyer. Rufus was standing there, the Turks lined up in front of him.

"We can't find them? Well, search the—" He stopped as Astrid walked in, looking at her with slight derision, "Ah, good of you to join us." He nodded to the Turks, "We were just discussing what was going on with the remnants of the Shin-Ra Board of Directors."

Astrid frowned, crossing her arms, "Aren't they dead? I would imagine they went down with the building when Meteor fell."

Tseng shook his head, "There's a good possibility that they escaped when Reeve evacuated Midgar."

She nodded, blinking, "So, are they still official members of the board, or can I rag on them?"

"Feel free." Reno answered, smirking.

"Well…" Astrid stretched her arms out in front of her, "The only one I can really imagine surviving would be the overly rambunctious, anorexic skank Scarlet." She smiled and clenched her hand into a fist, lowing her head, "Yes." Upon looking back up and seeing the confused looks she was getting, she shrugged her shoulders, "I really hate her. Anyway, Heidegger would have probably stayed until the end to use the Sister Ray and Palmer would have been too stupid to run, but Scarlet would have had the foresight to escape."

"Good analysis, but wrong." Reno said, shaking his head, "Palmer made it. He was stationed at Junon at the time and he's still there, hiding out in the upper layer." He frowned, "No clue how he's managed to survive with all of those mobs trying to storm the place, but he has."

"You were right about Scarlet and Heidegger, though." Elena said, nodding, "Scarlet escaped and is rumored to be laying low in Edge, and there's been no word on Heidegger so it's probably safe to assume he's dead."

Astrid nodded, trusting the seemingly baseless assumption. 'These are the Turks. One of their specialties is gathering information. If they say that Heidegger is probably dead, then there's at least an eighty percent chance he is.' "So, what'll we do with this information?"

Rufus looked at her and blinked, "'We'?"

"Yes, we." Astrid quirked a brow, "Or was I not added to Shin-Ra's payroll two years ago?" She smirked, "Which reminds me, you owe me a paycheck of 76,800 gil for the last two years."

Rufus frowned and the Turks smirked, Reno laughing, "She's got a point, sir."

"We," Rufus said harshly, glaring between Reno and Astrid, "Will be going to Palmer in Junon. I want you, Tseng," He turned to the man, "To take Elena and Rude to Edge and search for Scarlet. Don't alert her to your presence; just locate her, get me a basic layout of her daily schedule, and find out where she lives."

"Actually, I'd rather go after Scarlet, if it's alright." Astrid said, turning to Rufus and clasping her arms behind her back.

Rufus looked at her critically, "Why?"

Astrid shrugged, "No reason. I'd just rather do it that way. And, seeing as I'm lazy when it comes to doing things I don't want to do, it would probably be a good idea to just switch me and Rude. Besides, Reno and Rude work well together."

The president scowled and shook his head, "As much as I'd rather you didn't get your way, you're right about the last part. Reno seems to work a lot more efficiently when Rude is there to make sure he stays on the job."

Reno frowned, "Hey!"

"Then it's decided!" Astrid smiled, walking over to Tseng and Elena, "We three will track down Scarlet while you three go check on Palmer."

Rufus nodded, "Fine. Let's go, Reno. Rude." He followed the two Turks to the door, stopping and waiting as Tseng, Elena, and Astrid walked by. He grabbed Astrid by her right arm and held it up, thumb rubbing the silver bangle hanging at her wrist. "I hadn't noticed until now… you're still wearing this thing."

Astrid nodded, looking at the Ultima Bangle, "It's saved me countless times and it has the most materia slots out of any other armor I've found. Its greatest downfall is its weight; it took me forever to get used to using it when it was fully loaded with materia."

"I thought you might have a bit of trouble with that." Rufus said, letting her arm go, "But that's why I picked it; it would give you something to work at to overcome." He smirked down at her when she looked up at him, "You needed to be stronger, and it looks like my methods worked."

"Egotistical bastard." She smirked.

He smirked back, "Hotheaded brat."

Her smirk grew to a grin, "Pretty boy."

He leaned in, grabbing her chin, "Stubborn fool."

Reno popped his head in as they were closing in on each other, quirking a brow, "When you two are done sweet-talking each other, we're ready to go." He then ducked back out.

Rufus glared after the Turk, "One of these days, I'm going to kill him."

Astrid rolled her eyes, "No you won't; he's one of your last few loyal followers."

"Then I must be getting desperate." Rufus sighed, shaking his head.

They walked out, both separating into their groups and heading their own ways.

"So," Tseng said, watching as the helicopter rose, leaving them without a vehicle, "I suppose we're walking."

"And why would we do that?" Astrid said, taking out her 'Cloud Party' PHS and dialing a number, "Hey, Rob? It's me. Misha there? …Good, thanks. Listen, could you send her, Gaea and Titan out? Just tell Misha that I'm at Healin and she'll lead the other two here. …Thanks, Rob. Have a nice day." She hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket, nodding to the Turks, "We'll have three chocobos shortly."

"From the Chocobo Farm?" Tseng asked, frowning slightly, "Thank you, Astrid, but I'm afraid that they might take a bit too long to get here."

She nodded, "If they were coming from the Chocobo Farm, you'd be right. But after I became deeply invested in breeding chocobos to get the mountain and river chocobos, I funded Chocobo Bob and he built a new farm run by his brother-in-law, Rob. It's just a few miles southwest of here, across the river from where that old hermit used to live." She pursed her lips angrily, "Kinda ticks me off that I've basically been living so close to you this whole time and never knew…"

Elena and Tseng said nothing.

The three waited silently for a total of five minutes before sounds made them turn to look down the road. Chains jingled softly and leather squeaked against leather as the charcoal chocobo and two pale green chocobos ran up, Misha throwing her head back and squawking a loud greeting to Astrid.

Astrid smiled, reaching out and grabbing the chocobo's reigns, "Hey, Misha. Sorry if I worried you."

"Wark!" Misha stomped her feet and tossed her head, bending and nuzzling her head against Astrid's cheek.

Astrid laughed and patted the chocobo's head, then turned to the two pale green chocobos the Turks were looking at. "That's Gaea," She pointed to the bird with the black tack, "And that one's Titan." As she pointed to the darker of the two chocobos, the bird threw his head back and snorted loudly, glaring at Astrid. She laughed nervously, "He… doesn't like me very much."

Elena looked at her with wide eyes, "Then how are either of us supposed to ride him?!"

Astrid shrugged, "He's sexist, so Tseng should be fine riding him."

"A sexist chocobo." Tseng mused, laughing lightly when Titan approached him and knelt down, "What an odd concept." He mounted the chocobo, grabbing the reigns as the bird stood.

"Guess that leaves Gaea to me." Elena said, walking over to the female chocobo and hopping on.

With the black chocobo and the two mountain chocobo mounts, the three traveled through the mountains much faster than they would have on foot, yet much slower than Astrid ever had though this particular range. She took the opportunity to get a better look at her surroundings, making a mental map of the location of Healin Lodge.

It was in the small 'y' shaped mountain range directly south of Midgar, sitting on the edge of the valley nestled between the small mountain range and the large one that ran along the southern border of the Midgar Area. Because of the thick trees and fast-moving rivers, there weren't any large beasts in the area and the few small ones there were fled at the first sign of humans.

Astrid sighed, looking over to her Turk companions, "So, what's the game plan?"

"Apparently," Tseng began, glancing back at her, "Scarlet has a private apartment in near the square where the Meteor monument is. Not exactly an ideal place for one who's hiding, but she rarely leaves it during the day. Most of out investigations, therefore, will take place during the night."

Her right eye twitched upon hearing this, and Astrid sighed heavily, "Yay."

Elena turned rode up beside her and frowned, "You're the one who wanted to come with us to go after Scarlet, so no complaining."

"Meeeegh." Astrid moaned, slumping in her saddle.

Misha just shook her head, jogging a bit when they came to a gap and leaping over it. After a brief pause to make sure Titan and Gaea made it across, Misha resumed walking.

"These are well bred chocobos." Tseng observed as Titan trotted back to the front. The Turk glanced back at Astrid and blinked, "How much time did you spend breeding them?"

Astrid pursed her lips and thought about it, "I started looking for the Chocobo Sage two months after Meteor had been stopped. I found him four months after, got all of the information I was going to get out of him five months after, and made it back to the Chocobo farm six months after. I rested up for a week or so, rented a chocobo from Bill and set off for Junon.

"Two months into breeding, I realized that Bob's facilities weren't going to be nearly enough to comfortably get what I wanted, so I went go Gold Saucer to pull out my winnings, which were…" She paused, smirking, "Quite a bit to, to say the least." She shrugged, "Nine months after Meteorfall, the Junon Area branch of the Chocobo Farm opened and breeding began immediately. On and off, I've been working on breeding these guys for the past year and ten months." She patted Misha and smiled, "These three are fourth generation breeds, and by far the most promising lot."

The three chocobos squealed loudly and stopped, stamping their feet.

Their riders looked ahead, Tseng nodding, "We have arrived."

At the edge of Edge, they dismounted their chocobos and Astrid spoke to Misha.

"Wait here for us, alright? Don't let anyone near you that you don't know and don't all three of you fall asleep at one time; take turns."

Misha nodded, "Wark."

Gaea walked up to her and brushed her head against Astrid's shoulder while Titan shook his head and smacked her with his beak, growling down at her.

"Yes, mother." Astrid said with a smirk, bowing to the male chocobo, "I'll make sure to be careful." She turned to the Turks and nodded, "Alright, we're off."

Sticking to the alleys for cover, the three wound their way through the slums to the center of the city. Tseng and Elena avoided eye contact with anyone they passed, including the children. Astrid, on the other hand, searched the faces of the children, looking for one in particular…

"Miss Cray, if we have to keep stopping for you, Elena and I will eventually leave you behind." Tseng said dryly, crossing his arms and sighing as Astrid looked up and ran to catch up with them.

"Sorry," She said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly as they started walking again, "I was… looking for someone."

"Who?" Elena asked, quirking her head.

"A boy named Kale." Astrid answered, smiling slightly, "I met him a few days ago outside of Seventh Heaven. Cute kid."

Tseng and Elena exchanged glances, then walked on quietly.

Astrid frowned, falling back a few paces and looking between them. "What?"

"Nothing." Elena said, shrugging, "It's just…" She trailed off, a nervous twinge in her voice.

"'Just' what?" Astrid demanded, frowning.

Tseng sighed, "You've just been attaching yourself to a lot of younger boys lately…" He glanced back at her, frowning slightly, "We can't help but wonder if your overly maternal instincts you used to have reserved for Marcus are going onto overdrive, or…" He stopped, facing forward and picking up his speed a bit.

Astrid looked at the ground, frowning. 'Overly maternal instincts? For younger boys? …Marcus…' She sighed and shook her head slightly, glancing up at the two Turks. 'I suppose they have a point… first it was Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, and now Kale—'

"Astrid."

She looked up at Tseng, blinking.

He nodded to her, gesturing to a building behind him, "We're here."

* * *

Alrighty, then, so as you can see from this new chapter, I do plan on continuing this until I am satisfied that it is in a good position to end. I am debating, though, on whether or not I should put up more stores, because I am afraid if I do my readers might get mad at me if I update on one more often than another, or something like that.

If you all think you can handle more but have the updates spread out a bit, tell me. Also, don't worry; I will do my own duty and do my personal best to keep the updates reasonable and try my best to not go for months on end without updating.


	10. Scarlet

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(Scarlet)

"We're to just sit here, then?" Astrid asked, flopping down onto the sofa and watching the two Turks.

Tseng had rented them a hotel room directly across from the house Scarlet was supposedly living in, the window of their room parallel to hers. Currently, both Tseng and Elena were poised in front of the window, watching the former Shin-Ra executive's window intently.

When neither of the Turks responded, Astrid sighed and lay her head back, closing her eyes and dozing off slightly.

"Astrid."

She jumped and opened her eyes, looking blearily at Elena, who was standing in front of her and bent slightly.

"I'm going out to get something to eat." Elena said, tilting her head slightly, "You want anything?"

"I'll get it." Astrid said abruptly, jumping to her feet, "There's a good burger place near here that's relatively cheap." At this point, though, she was looking for any reason to get out of the boring job of sit-and-watch.

"Alright, thanks." Elena said, smiling.

Astrid nodded back, "Anything in particular you want? Or can I order whatever?"

Elena waved her off, walking back to the window, "I'll just get whatever you get."

"I'll have the same, Miss Cray." Tseng said, still looking out the window intently.

Astrid nodded, snapping her fingers, "You got it." On her way out, she shot Elena a suggestive grin and looked towards Tseng, making the female Turk blush slightly and turn away.

The streets were full of people hustling and bustling from one place to another, all of the citizens apparently over what had happened just a day before.

'Oh, how fools rush to accept normalcy.'

Children who had once hidden were now running about happily, playing games in the streets and openly enjoying themselves.

Astrid smiled as a girl bumped into her accidentally, then giggled and ran off shouting an apology over her shoulder. 'Eventually, Healin will shelter a lot of these kids. They'll all have a home and we'll get them off of the streets.'

She kept an eye out for Kale, hoping to see his mop of hair bouncing through the crowd.

In no time, she was walking into the restaurant and her search ended temporarily, attention directed to ordering food. She was lounging in a booth, waiting for her order, when she saw a sight that shocked her beyond all belief.

'It can't be…'

The red dress was too dark and earthy.

'Those heels… too small…'

There was no revealing slit up to the hip.

'She's actually wearing a _jacket_.'

The face was too… muted. Calm.

'And she's wearing her hair _down_!'

It couldn't be… but it was. The person she was looking at, standing in line and ordering food, was clearly Scarlet.

'Holy materia…'

As if hearing her thoughts, Scarlet turned to Astrid and locked eyes with her, both of them blinking.

Astrid could feel herself going green. 'Shit.'

Scarlet stared at her a moment longer, then turned back and took her cup, filling it at the soft drink dispenser before heading over to Astrid's booth.

Astrid's eyes grew progressively wider as the woman approached. 'Don't sit, don't sit, don't sit, don't sit, don't sit, don't si—' Scarlet sat across from her. 'Double shit.'

"Hello, Astrid." Scarlet said calmly, taking a sip of her drink, "How have you been?"

"Well enough." Astrid squeaked, clearing her throat before she went on, "How about you? You're looking… well." Well, actually the former head of Weapons Development looked strikingly well, having gained a few healthy pounds and a little color to her skin.

"I am doing quite well, actually." Scarlet smiled, something that would have looked scary if she had looked like what she once had but actually looked charming on the new Scarlet. "It's good to see you again… Brings back fond memories."

"Yeah…" Astrid laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head, "Sorry about that whole… grabbing you in a chokehold and dragging you into the ocean thing."

Scarlet's smile widened slightly, "Think nothing of it. I understand completely why you did it and I don't blame you."

They sat in silence for a few moments, Astrid sweating bullets.

'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit… SHITE! This is not good! We weren't supposed to make contact with her until we had properly assessed her situation! DAMN! I am so _screwed_!'

"Are you alright, Astrid?" Scarlet asked, frowning, "You're looking pale… and green."

"Fine!" Astrid answered immediately, her eye twitching, "Just hungry!"

"_Call for order number forty-eight._"

"That's you, I think." Scarlet said, looking at the tab in front of Astrid, "I was just after you, and I'm forty-nine…"

"_Call for order number forty-nine._"

"Guess that's both of us, then!" Scarlet said brightly, smiling and standing, "Come on." She held out her hand.

Astrid nervously took the outstretched hand and let the woman drag her to the counter, both of them grabbing their bags and walking out of the restaurant together.

"I know this is sudden, but would you like to pop by my apartment for a moment?" Scarlet asked with a disarming smile, "I'd like to catch up."

Astrid blanched. 'Should I? Shouldn't I? Will I royally screw things over?' "Sure!" 'Damn it… did I just say that?!'

Scarlet's smile widened, "Wonderful! Follow me, then!"

'I am so fucked.' Astrid thought as she followed the older woman through the crowd. 'Rufus is going to find out about this and he's going to slit my throat. I am going to die.'

When the hotel she was rooming at with Tseng and Elena came into view, Astrid's panic increased.

'Can't focus on it too much… I'll give them away… Must… Not… LOOK!'

She could almost feel the Turk's eyes boring into the back of her skull as she followed Scarlet through the entrance door, and even still as they ascended the stairs.

'Can the Turks see through walls?!'

The thought was ludicrous, but at that moment Murphy's Law seemed to be in full swing and enjoying its time.

'CURSE YOU, MURPHY!!'

"Here we are!"

Astrid looked up, blinking as Scarlet unlocked the green door in front of them and swinging it open, gesturing for Astrid to walk in with a smile.

Nodding and smiling, Astrid walked past the woman and into the apartment, looking around herself.

"Sit wherever!" Scarlet called as she slipped past her and walked into the next room. "I'll be with you in a moment!"

"Nice place."

The walls were whitewashed and there were a few pieces of light red furniture splayed about in a fashionable manner. There was a window right across from her with simple red drapes, a feature Astrid quickly overlook when she caught a glimpse of blonde hair flashing out of sight from the window across the way.

'Get ready for a show, you two.' Astrid sat down on the nearest piece of furniture, a well-worn plump armchair.

Scarlet flounced into the room a moment later, carrying two glasses of wine. "Do you drink? It's really quite good."

"Thank you." Astrid took the offered glass with a smile, sipping at it tentatively as the woman reclined on an overstuffed sofa. "You've been doing well for yourself…"

"Ah, well enough." Scarlet shrugged her shoulders, "As well as one would expect after the fall of Shin-Ra and the loss of my job." She took a casual drink, throwing Astrid an airy glance, "How is Rufus, by the way?"

Astrid blinked, taking another hurried sip of wine before answering, "Haven't seen much of him since the incident, actually. Been here and there and never rea—"

"Astrid," Scarlet sighed, letting her head fall back against the arm of the sofa, "I'll ask you what you once asked of the late President Shinra; don't play me for a fool. I've been up and down this town a thousand times over since the incident, and I know that you aren't native enough to Edge to just be casually be eating at a restaurant, and I know you wouldn't be able to stomach those three hamburgers on your own." She nodded to the greasy back on Astrid's lap.

Astrid was silent.

Scarlet shook her head and sat up, "I know you're here for him, and I know you're here to watch me, and I'll ask that you don't drag me back into this business." The woman looked at the younger woman wearily, "Is it too much to ask for a rest?"

"For one who was what you once where, yes." Astrid said, taking a mouthful of wine and staring at Scarlet seriously.

"I know what I've done in the past," Scarlet said, closing her eyes, "But I'd like to move on. I'm not the person I once was and I never will be again." She paused, then looked at Astrid pleadingly, "I've met someone… He's got three kids, and I'm really starting to love them. Please, Astrid… don't ask me to go back."

Astrid stared at Scarlet for a moment, searching the woman's eyes. In them, she saw nothing but truth and desperation.

"Fine." Astrid said after a moment, "We're done with you. I promise."

Scarlet smiled happily, standing as Astrid stood and crossing the room to pull the younger woman into a hug.

"Thank you, Astrid… Thank you so much."

Astrid hugged her back, "Good luck."

………

Outside of the apartment building, Astrid wearily crossed the street, blinking when a small form ran out of the shadows and latched onto her waist.

When Kale looked up at her and began chatting animatedly with her, Astrid just started smiling and nodding, dragging the boy into her hotel and up the steps. Inside of the room, she dropped the bag of hamburgers onto the table and dug one out, giving it to the boy and watching him as he tore the paper open and began eating ravenously.

Tseng and Elena joined them at the dinner table, the three adults sitting in silence for a moment before Tseng asked, "What happened?"

Astrid looked up at the two Turks slowly, blinking, "We're going to leave her alone. She's not the person she used to be, and she's starting to adapt to a normal life. She's no longer Shin-Ra's."

Tseng nodded, then reached into the takeout bag and pulled out his hamburger, Elena following suit.

Astrid turned back to Kale and continued to watch him silently, speaking up after a moment. "Hey, Tseng, you got an extra shirt I can borrow? He needs a bath."

"Of course."

She nodded, smiling to the boy when he looked up at her, "You're going to stay with me, now. Is that alright?"

Kale thought about it, then nodded and smiled widely, "Okay!"

………

Tseng walked into the living room and watched Astrid silently as she lay the boy down on the sofa and tucked him in.

"Rufus isn't going to be happy about this."

"Rufus can bite me."

He looked at her, blinking, "You do know that children are a big responsibility, right?"

Astrid smirked, shaking her head as she dropped into the chair across from the sofa. "Tseng? Giving me advice in raising children? How… out of character. You never struck me as the 'child guru' kind."

"I'm serious, Astrid." Tseng said, frowning, "Children require constant care. He may be a bit lower maintenance because he's older—"

"He's seven, actually."

"Age regardless, he is still a child." The Turk narrowed his eyes at her, "He will require time, energy, attention… are you prepared to give up more than half of your life for this?"

Astrid sighed and closed her eyes, smirking wearily, "Tseng, my biological clock has been ticking for two years. I have been _dying_ for something to care for, don't worry about that. On top of that, I was there to watch my mother raise my brother… I have a pretty good idea about what to do."

Tseng blinked, then nodded, "If you say so." He then turned and walked back to his room.

………

The next day, Astrid woke early and ordered breakfast, pulling out her Shin-Ra PHS when everyone was at the table and dialing Rufus's number.

RingRi—

"_How's it going?_"

"Scarlet is a no-go." Astrid said, leaning back and munching on a piece of bacon, "She's too settled in and doesn't want to come back. We're done pursuing her."

"_Based on whose decision?_"

"Mine." Astrid said harshly, glaring at the bacon and tearing another hunk out of it. "We're going to leave her alone, Rufus."

"_Fine, fine. We'll leave her alone._" He paused, "_Was that it?_"

"No. How are things going over there?"

Rufus sighed heavily. "_Things are a real mess in Junon. You were right; mob rule is rampant. We're going to need serious help organizing this again…_"

"Call Reeve." Astrid suggested, taking a drink of milk, "I'm sure he'd be happy to help. Or even Cloud and the others. And, if all else fails, I know the names of a few good mercenaries who owe me some favors…"

"_We may have to look into that… Anyway, Palmer has apparently been waiting for me to come back so he can formally resign. The old Shin-Ra is officially gone._"

"Then we'll just have to make a new one."

They were silent for a moment, then Rufus asked again, "_Was __that__ it?_"

"No." Astrid looked at Kale, biting her lip as he dug into his pancakes, "Rufus… I have a son."

"…_What?_"


	11. A Growing Family

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(A Growing Family)

"I'm sure he'll love you." Astrid looked at Tseng and Elena nervously, "Right?"

Elena raised her hands in defeat, "Don't bring us into this. He is, after all, _your_ 'son'."

Astrid sighed, turning back to Kale and straightening his tie. "Don't worry, he will… at least tolerate you."

Kale fidgeted nervously, looking down at his feet, "Do I have to wear this _all_ the time?"

"Of course not." Astrid smiled, brushing off his shoulders, "But, remember, first impressions are always the most important." There was a roar as the helicopter set down and Astrid jumped to her feet, wringing her hands. "Well, here it goes."

………

Rufus Shinra stormed into the room with a few choice words in mind to bellow at Astrid, but when he saw her practically beaming with her hands on the shoulders of a small, nervous boy in a tuxedo, he bit his tongue and stuck with shaking his head.

"Astrid, Astrid, Astrid…"

………

Astrid watched Rufus's reaction nervously, smiling at Rude and Reno as they walked in to see what the fuss was about.

"Now that you're all here, I have someone I'd like to introduce you to." She knelt, moving her hands from Kale's shoulders down to his upper arms, "Everyone, this is Kale. Kale, this is Reno, Rude, and Rufus." She pointed to the three men in turn.

Kale bowed slightly, "H-hi. My name is Kale." He then fell silent.

Rufus, who up until this point had been frowning slightly, walked forward and knelt in front of the boy.

When Astrid felt Kale tense under her hands, she rubbed his arms slightly, watching Rufus warily.

The man stared at the boy a moment longer, then smirked slightly, "She's a bit crazy, isn't she?"

Kale's head tilted, "Who?"

"Astrid." Rufus said, smirk widening slightly. "Dressing you up like that… she'd _have_ to be crazy to do that."

Kale paused, then snickered, "Yeah."

"Hate it, don't ya?" Rufus asked, laughing lightly, "Uncomfortable things, tuxes. Scratchy, too."

"Yeah, it is itchy." Kale nodded, his hand raising to scratch his arm.

Rufus nodded, then suggested, "Be a lot better if you took that coat off."

Kale nodded again, slipping the jacket over his shoulders and off his back.

Astrid, who had stood and stepped back, watched in silent shock as Rufus was cordial… no, more than cordial; kind to Kale. Friendly. As if he'd known all along that the boy would eventually be coming and had prepared for it.

"Reno." Rufus said suddenly, standing and nodding to the flame-headed Turk. "I want you to keep an eye on Kale for a moment. Tseng, Rude, Elena, go unpack the helicopter. Astrid," He nodded to her, "I'd like to talk to you."

She nodded, throwing a smile to Kale as she followed Rufus down the hall and to her bedroom. Inside, he motioned for her to sit on the bed and stood before her, frowning down at her slightly.

"How official is it?"

"Papers are right here." Astrid said, pulling an envelope out of her pocket and holding it out. She began to narrate as Rufus took it and opened it, looking over the papers, "Usually, the process would have taken several weeks, but because the Geostigma has been healed there's been a rush for adoptions. The agencies are cutting procedure down to the bare minimum, so we were in and out in four hours. As of seven o'clock this morning, Kale Masterson became Kale Cray. He is officially my son."

Rufus nodded, looking over the papers several times. "Midgar Agencies… dependable, if I remember correctly. Then, chances are, this was a legal adoption."

"It was." Astrid assured, nodding, "I had Tseng and Elena check."

Rufus nodded again, then sighed and knelt in front of her, looking up into her face searchingly, "Astrid… what you did is fine, but… I want to know that you didn't do it for the wrong reasons. Tell me, here and now, that this isn't about Marcus."

Astrid blinked, looking down at him, "And in the case I can't?"

"Then I'll take the kid back to Edge." Rufus answered immediately and surely, "I won't have you doing this because of him… It's unhealthy."

Astrid stared at him for a moment, then smiled. She grabbed the back of his head and leaned forward, an action Rufus mirrored. He stopped, though, when she rested her head against his neck.

"There's nothing to worry about." Astrid mumbled, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I did this for Kale, not Marcus. I like Kale, and I want what's best for him. That's it."

Rufus sighed, rubbing her back, "Fine, then. The kid can stay."

"Thank you." She straightened, smirking at the man, "Well, should we go check on him? I'm not sure leaving him with Reno was the best idea, but…"

Rufus smirked back, "Not quite yet." He stood and pushed her onto the bed, leaning over her with both hands on either side of her head, "That was a cruel little trick you just played, tease." He leaned in, smirk widening, "I think you're going to have to pay for that."

Astrid's eyes widened, "Rufus…" She closed her eyes and turned her head, inhaling sharply, "Not like this…"

He stared down at her for a moment, blinking slowly. He then closed the space between them, pecking the corner of her mouth. "Fine, then. I can wait." He stood and walked to the door.

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for." Rufus said, smirk returning as he nodded to her, "We'll go at your pace."

Astrid blinked in shock, sitting up, "My pace?"

"You're the only one I want, Astrid." Rufus stated calmly, the smirk fading to a more serious look, "I'm willing to wait." He opened the door and started to step out, "I'm going to go check on how Tseng and the others are doing. Get some rest." And the door closed.

A frozen, shocked Astrid stared at the door, her heart in her throat and her face pulsing with the sudden wave of heat that had taken over her body. She shuddered, falling back onto her bed and wrapping her arms around her stomach.

'What the hell was that?! Rufus… he…' She clenched her hands tighter, squinting her eyes shut. 'This is… what I wanted… right? …Why does it feel so…' She sat up abruptly as the door opened.

Kale peeked his head in, looking around nervously, "Can I… come in?"

Astrid smiled widely, brushing her thoughts away, "Of course, hon. Come on."

He stepped into the room and shut the door, walking nervously to the foot of her bed and wringing his hands.

She frowned, "Something wrong, Kale?" Her eyes narrowed, "Did Reno do something?"

"No, ma'am." He answered immediately, his shoulders hunching slightly.

Astrid's frown deepened, "'Ma'am'?"

"I'm sorry." His hunch became more pronounced, "I don't mean to be a burden."

"Kale!" Astrid jumped forward and grabbed his shoulders, pulling his slight, emaciated form onto the bed and looking at him seriously, "Honey, you are _not_ a burden! You're just fine!"

Kale bit his lip, lowering his eyes and looking away, "Yeah, but…"

"Kale." She cut him off, grabbing his chin and turning his head so he faced her. She smiled, "Kale, nothing has or has to change between us, honey. You can still call me 'Astrid', you don't have to give me any specific titles, and you can still just be 'Kale' to me if you want me to be. The only difference is is I'm taking care of you, now. You don't have to change _anything_."

"Really?" He blinked, eyes shifting away, "But the other kids said you'd want me to call you 'Mom' and stuff…"

Astrid quirked a brow, "If you mean my 'and stuff' that I'll be expecting you to go to school, then you are damned right I want you to get an education." She smiled, tilting her head and rubbing his cheek, "But you don't have to call me anything other than 'Astrid' if you don't want to."

Kale nodded, looking back to her slowly, "Alright, Astrid…" He waited, as if expecting something to happen. When nothing did, though, he scooted off of the bed and stood, looking down at his tux with a frown, "Do I have to wear this anymore? It's really stiff."

Astrid stuck out her lower lip and frowned, "Mroooooo, but you look so cute in a tuxedo."

"Aaaaaastriiiiiid." Kale moaned, scratching his arms.

"Fine." Astrid laughed, standing and walking to the door, "You bags are under the bed, so go on and change. I'll be in the foyer if you need me!" After closing the door behind her, Astrid spun around and danced down the hall, humming to herself and smiling. When she leapt through the final door and into the front room, she pirouetted once and held out her hands, bowing.

The room was silent.

When Astrid had straightened and opened her eyes, she burst into laughter at the wide-eyed looks she was getting from Rufus and the Turks.

"Sorry about that," She giggled, shaking her head, "I'm just happy right now."

"Riiiight…" Rufus said, raising his brows cynically. He paused, then picked up a box that was beside him and held it out, "Here… we found this outside. It's for you… from Kadaj."

Astrid felt a jolt and her body went cold, a tingly/panicky feeling of fear gripping her heart and her body. "What?" She whispered numbly, voice suddenly hoarse.

"A gift." Rufus said, walking forward and placing the box in her hands, "From Kadaj. Probably sent it before he died, and it's just now getting here." He looked at her and shrugged, "We didn't open it yet, so be careful."

She looked at the box in her hand, the brown cardboard and twine string a mockery of innocence, considering who it was from. Astrid fell to her knees, setting the box on the ground and gripping the two ends of the twine tensely. What was inside? What would Kadaj have sent her? …Why were there holes in the top?

Giving herself no time to think about the answers, Astrid quickly pulled the knot loose and removed the top, blinking at what was inside.

Wide navy eyes stared up at her, innocence and blue fire burning in their depths at the same time. A sleek, black/blue body circled once, then sat right in front of her and directed the head up, tilting the neck ever so slightly. It blinked.

"Mew."

"Dark Nation?..." Astrid murmured, reaching out with one hand and resting it on the edge of the box. 'No… not Dark Nation… but a kitten… cub of the same species.'

The miniature hellcat stretched its neck out and licked the tip of Astrid's finger, then looked back up at her and mewled again.

"I am sorry for what I did to your cat, Sister." Rufus said suddenly, reading from a letter, "Please, accept her and believe me when I say I regret what happened. Kadaj."

When the hellcat kitten mewled again, Astrid picked it up and cradled it against her chest looking up at Rufus and smiling, "My family just keeps getting bigger and bigger…"

Rufus sighed and shook his head, "Greeeaaaat. Another mouth to feed."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Astrid growled, jumping to her feet and hugging the kitten closer, "Don't talk about our daughter like that!"

"'Our' daughter?" Rufus asked, raising a brow and crossing his arms, "We aren't even dating, Astrid, so how can anything be 'ours'?"

She thought about this, then smiled, "Take me to dinner and we'll call it even?"

The President blinked, then sighed heavily and smacked his forehead, "Fine. Dinner. Be ready in thirty minutes. Tseng," He looked at the Turk, nodding, "You, Elena, Rude and Reno are babysitting."

"WHAT?!" The four Turks exclaimed, looking at Rufus with wide eyes.

Astrid burst into laugher, "From assassinations and espionage to babysitting! You Turks really _do_ do everything, don't you?"

At that moment, Kale walked into the room, looking at everyone in confusion, "What's going on?"

"Rufus and I are going on a…" Astrid began, trailing off as she looked at the small, lost boy. 'Crap… bad idea. It's his first night here, I can't leave! Besides, he doesn't know about Rufus and I…' "We're all going to the Gold Saucer!" Astrid finished, ignoring the shocked looks of Rufus and the Turks.

"Really?!" Kale exclaimed, smiling widely, "I've never been there before! Am I going, too?!"

"Of course you are." Rufus said, catching on when Astrid threw him a look, "As if we'd leave you behind."

"Go and grab a jacket, Kale, and we'll go." Astrid said, nodding.

Kale nodded, his face glowing, then turned and ran back down the hall.

Astrid sighed and turned to Rufus, who had a brow raised.

"Last minute changes?"

She smiled sheepishly, "I can't leave him here… It'd be irresponsible of me."

"That's right, Miss Cray, it would." Tseng said, nodding approvingly, "It's good to see you acting like a proper parent."

Astrid looked at the Turk and quirked a brow, "Like you'd know. You and Elena haven't even officially admitted you _like_ each other yet!" Tseng's eyes widened and Elena turned red, but Astrid went on, "Besides, Tseng, you and I have known each other for almost three years now. Call me Astrid."

Tseng opened his mouth to say something, but ended up snapping it shut abruptly when Kale ran back into the room.

"Let's go!"


	12. Bad First Evening at Gold Saucer

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(Bad First Evening at Gold Saucer)

"What are you going to call him?" Kale, who was sitting beside Astrid, whispered, looking at the sleeping kitten in Astrid's arms.

She thought about it for a moment, covering the kit with part of her jacket when he stirred, "Shade."

The kitten squirmed, then settled down.

Astrid sighed, looking up at Rufus, who was sitting on her other side, and asking, "When'll we get there?"

"About another hour." He answered, turning to glance at her, "We'll probably end up staying the night there."

"Fine by me." Astrid said, smirking and laying her head back. 'Oh, the riches that await me in the Gold Saucer vaults…'

"Miss Cray—"

"Astrid." She corrected without opening her eyes.

Tseng paused, then went on, "…Astrid," ('He had to choke that one out, didn't he?') "Didn't you once mention having a fair sized amount of money at Gold Saucer?"

Astrid's eyes snapped open and widened as she turned to the Turk, "Wow… You have an amazing memory! How do you remember things like that?!"

Tseng frowned, "Astrid—"

"I mean, seriously!" She went on, "I only said that in passing about… what? A week ago? And you still remember!" She leaned back, smiling in astonishment, "Jeez, and I sometimes have problems remembering things that happened two days ago, but you, Tseng, you're just like 'kazang!' with your memory."

The leader of the Turks stared at her, his frown becoming more pronounced, "You… never answered my—"

"Goodnight!" Astrid turned on her side, closing her eyes and apparently falling asleep.

"…question." Tseng finished, blinking.

The passengers of the helicopter were silent.

Though falling asleep had been a ruse to get Tseng to stop asking questions, Astrid accidentally ended up falling asleep. When next she woke, her body was leaned almost completely forward in her seat, head pointing to the ground. The only thing that held her in place was her seatbelt.

"We're here." Rufus poked her arm, "You awake?"

"And in pain." She groaned, leaning back and squinting her eyes as her back cracked, "Crick in my neck, stiff spine, butt feels like it has a compound fracture… Ah, the conveniences of flying."

"At least Gold Saucer has comfortable beds." Reno said, standing as the door opened, "Now, let's get going, already!"

They had landed on Gold Saucer's helicopter pad, a recent addition Dio had the insight to add. …That, and he had bout his own helicopter.

After some stretching and yawns, Rufus led the way to the entrance gate, pulling out his wallet.

"No need." Astrid said, smiling to the attendant as they approached, "Hey, Thelma!"

The attendant turned to Astrid and smiled widely, screeching, "Astrid!!" She pulled Astrid into a hug, being mindful of the still sleeping hellkitten, when she was close enough, then held her back and looked her up and down, "You are looking fantastic! I was a bit worried when you stopped coming at your regular times."

"Yeah, I seem to be doing that to a lot of people lately." Astrid sheepishly admitted. "Anyway, my ticket is still good, right?"

Thelma rolled her eyes and batted Astrid's shoulder with the palm of her hand, "Don't be ridiculous, you know that we don't call them 'Lifetime Passes' for a reason!"

"And we'll all be covered by it?"

The attendant looked at Rufus, the Turks, and Kale, ticking them off with her finger, "Three… five… six plus you equals seven. Yep, considering the pass covers parties of eight or less, you're all covered!"

Astrid nodded and smiled, "Thanks, Thel. Have a nice evening."

"You too!" Thelma called as they walked in, "Let's catch up sometime, 'kay?"

"You got it!" Astrid called over her shoulder. In the entrance room, Astrid turned to Kale and smiled, "Okay, so where do you want to go?"

Kale looked at her with wide eyes, "I get to choose?"

Astrid shook her head and laughed, disturbing Shadow slightly, "Of course. Now, pick something. There's the Speed Square for the UFO shooting game, the Battle Square for the arena, the Chocobo Square for the chocobo races, the Ghost Square for the hotel, the Event Square for the theater, the Round Square for…" She trailed off, blinking, "Wow… I just realized that's an oxymoron."

Everyone deadpanned.

Shaking her head, she went on, "Anyway, the Round Square for the gondola, and the Wonder Square for the arcade. Where to?"

Kale thought about it, then smiled widely, "The Event Square!"

Astrid nodded, "A play it is, then. Follow me." She led them to the travel tube, stopping beside it and explaining to Kale, "It's just like a slide, only faster, safer, and full of pressurized air. Jump in and don't worry about landing, it's easier than your mind makes it out to be." With that, she jumped, tightening her grip on Shade only marginally.

The amphitheater was already dark when they came out of the chute, so they found some seats quickly and sat down, Astrid once again between Rufus and Kale.

After the murmurs had died, a man walked onto the stage and looked out at the crowd, spreading his arms and smiling, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to tonight's performance of 'The Tale of Galdia'! Before we begin, we would like two members of the audience to step forward and claim the two lead roles!"

"I remember this," Astrid mumbled, leaning over to talk to Rufus, "It was ridiculous."

Unfortunately, Astrid realized too late that the speaker had heard her. She deadpanned when he narrowed his eyes at her, then smiled sinisterly.

"And we have found our damsel in distress! Please, step forward Princess Rosa!" He held out his hand, beckoning her.

Rufus and the Turks started laughing.

Astrid paled, "Hell. No."

The man's smile only widened as he waited.

"Go on, Astrid!" She looked at Kale, who was smiling excitedly at her, "It'll be so cool! I _know_ you can do it!"

Putting on a weak, twitching smile, Astrid nodded, forcing herself to stand. She turned and handed Shade to Kale, then walked to the stage. 'Do it for the kid… Do it for the kid… Do it for the kid!' She found it hard, though, to not punch the man on the stage in the face.

The man, whose smile never lost its vindictiveness, grabbed Astrid by the waist and pulled her to his side, looking back over the crowd and shouting, "Our Princess!" He waited as the people cheered, looking at Rufus and the Turks when they started howling with laughter. "And we have also found our hero! Step forward, Legendary Hero!" He swept an arm out to the group.

Rufus and the Turks fell silent, looking between each other to find out who the man was pointing to.

"Come on, big guy!" The man went on, every smiling, "You know who you are."

"No."

Four of the five Shin-Ra members burst into laughter again, and Astrid's eye started to twitch.

The man laughed with glee, "Now, now, don't make me send someone out to get you!" At that, a man dressed in shiny purple robes and a man in armor stepped on stage.

"No."

The man sighed with mock-surrender, "Alright, then. I really didn't want to have to do this…" His face couldn't have disagreed with him more.

The man in the robes and the man in the armor walked offstage, grabbing the unwilling Shin-Ra employee and dragging him onstage.

"Our Legendary Hero!" The first man shouted when Rude was standing beside Astrid, summoning another round of cheers and peals laughter.

"And now!" The man said dramatically, handing Astrid to the armored man and bowing as she and Rude were taken backstage, "Let the show begin!" A cheery lute started playing and the man, now the Narrator, began his narration. "Long, long ago, an evil shadow appeared over the peaceful kingdom of Galdia…"

The stage darkened dramatically.

"Princess Rosa," The Narrator went on, "Was just kidnapped by the Evil Dragon King, Valvados. What will become of her? Just then, the Legendary Hero, Alfred, appears!"

"Alfred?!" Came Astrid's harsh whisper from stage right as Rude was pulled onstage by the man in the armor.

"Oh!" The Knight exclaimed, looking at Rude in shock, as if he hadn't just pulled him center stage. "Why, you must be the Legendary Hero, Alfred!" He paused, waiting for Rude to say his line.

Rude said nothing.

"That is _such_ a gay name!" Astrid's voice, once again, hissed across the stage. "Honestly, who names a hero _Alf_—" She stopped abruptly, muffled screams telling the audience she had been forcibly silenced.

"Hey," The Knight whispered to Rude when all was silent, "It's your line!"

Rude still said nothing, his face deadpanned.

Reno and Rufus couldn't hold back small snorts of laughter.

The Knight blinked, "Yeah… well… Ahem! Oh! You must be the Legendary Hero, Alfred! I know it in my soul!"

"_Improvisation and lies!_" Astrid managed to hiss before she was, once again, silenced.

"Please," The Knight went on, glancing stage right nervously, "Please, save Princess Rosa! Now, please _talk_ to the King!" The Knight pirouetted away to wait upstage right.

The King pirouetted onstage, falling to his knees before Rude. "Oh, Legendary Hero Alfred! You have come to save my beloved Rosa!" He turned dramatically, pointing to the painted mountain on the backdrop near stage right, "On the peak of the dangerous mountain dwells the Evil Dragon King, Valvados! It is he who kidnapped Princess Rosa! But…" He turned to Rude, looking him up and down for a moment, "You can't beat the Evil Dragon King now! _**Talk**_ to the one who can help you!"

The King pirouetted away from Rude and to the Knight as the man in the purple robes appeared in a flash of purple smoke, waving his arms dramatically.

"I am the great wizard, Vorman!" 'Vorman' shouted , falling to his knees in front of Rude before asking, "What do you wish to know?"

Rude just stared at him silently, his lips pursed.

"Go, Mr. Rude!" Kale shouted, making Rude look at him.

Rude blinked, then sighed and shook his head, muttering, "The Evil Dragon King's weakness…"

"Ahh," 'Vorman' nodded sagely, "The weakness of the Evil Dragon King. It must be!" He shouted, throwing his head back and rubbing his temples, "It must be… Yes, it must be… True Love!" The wizard shouted, waving his arms over his head, "The power of love is the only weapon that can withstand the fangs of the Evil Dragon King!" He stepped back and joined the Knight and the King.

"Oh!" The Narrator shouted, jumping forward, "What is going to happen next?! Oh!" He turned stage right, pointing with a finger and clinging to Rude's arm, "Legendary Hero! Look!"

A 'dragon' walked in from stage right, one clawed arm draped around the bound, gagged, and gussied-up Astrid, who the actors had somehow managed to force into a puffy pink dress covered in glitter and rhinestones.

"Gaaaaaaaaaah!" The Dragon shouted, its head rolling, "I am the Evil Dragon King **Valvados**! I have not harmed the Princess, for I have been expecting you!" A human arm reached out of the dragon costume and ripped the gag out of Astrid's mouth, simultaneously untying her.

Everyone waited for Astrid to do or say something, but she just crossed her arms and glared off into space.

"_Say something in character!_" The Narrator hissed, narrowing his eyes at her.

Astrid glared at him, then remembered Kale waiting out in the crowd and sighed. Then, she surprised everyone.

She threw her head back dramatically, laying the back of one hand across her forehead and the other on her chest, moaning, "Please! Please help me, Legendary Hero Alfred! Please, save me from the Evil Dragon King Valvados!"

All of the actors froze where they were, staring at her in shock.

Out in the audience, Reno and Rufus started laughing again.

'Valvados' shook his head, then roared, "Gaaaaaaah! Here I come, Legendary Hero Alfred!"

"Quickly, now, Legendary Hero!" 'Vorman' shouted, "Here is what will happen to your beloved! A kiss! The power of True Love!"

Rude looked at the wizard with wide eyes, then looked at Astrid.

She glared at him, whispering, "_Kiss me, Rude, and I'll kick you in the crotch!_"

For a moment, Rude seriously looked like a deer in the headlights; like he was trapped between a rock and a hard place; like he was up Shit Creek without a paddle; like… well, you all get it.

Then, suddenly wanting to be off stage quickly, Rude stalked forward and grabbed Astrid by the waist, bending her backwards and planting a kiss right on her mouth.

Astrid froze, staring at him with wide, twitching eyes.

After a moment, Rude backed away and glared at the Dragon, telling him to 'get the fucking show on the road'.

The Dragon stuttered, then stumbled backwards, "Arrggaahh! Curses! The power of… **Love**!!" And with that, the Dragon fell over backwards, "Eeeeehhhhh…" And died… a stage death.

The King ran forward and addressed the audience, "Oh! Look! Love has triumphed! Now, let's all return and celebrate!"

"Yes, let's!" All of the cast, minus Rude and Astrid, shouted, "Yes, let's!"

After they had all walked off, and even Valvados had jumped up and exited, the Narrator came forward and bowed, "Oh, how profound the power of love. And so, the Legendary Hero Alfred and our story live happily ever after."

…Even after the amphitheater had been cleared and the actors had come back onstage to remove her dress, Astrid stayed frozen where she was, eye twitching all the while.

"Hey, Astrid?" Reno muttered, poking her shoulder, "Can we go in now? It's getting cold." When he got no response, the Turk turned to his partner and shook his head, "Rude, I think your 'kiss of love' killed her."

"I wanted the play to be over." Rude muttered, staring at something incredibly interesting by his feet.

Astrid twitched at this, turning and glaring at him, "You didn't have to kiss me on the fucking mouth, dolt! You were supposed to kiss me on the hand!"

"Even so, it was pretty convincing." Rufus said from his seat out in front of the stage. He looked at Astrid and grinned cockily, "Real passionate."

"_Screw you, Shinra!_" Astrid hissed, turning her glare on him.

"…I thought it was a good story…" Kale muttered, grabbing onto Astrid's pants and looking up at her.

She turned and nearly snapped at him, but caught herself at the sight of him looking up at her with wide eyes with the hellcat kit nestled in his arms, large blue eyes gazing up at her as well.

Astrid sighed and shook her head, "You're right, Kale, it was a good play. Sorry about that." She turned to Rude and shrugged, "Sorry."

The Turk just shook his head and looked away.

"Well, let's move on, shall we?" Rufus suggested, jumping to his feet and walking off.

Astrid pursed her lips and glared after him, not moving until Elena draped an arm over her shoulder and whispered, "You know you're just angry it wasn't Rufus up there kissing you."

Astrid glared at the Turk, "Did I ask for your opinion?"

But, both women knew that it was, for the most part, true, and it was a secret understanding they would take with them to the grave.


	13. Dodging Questions

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(Dodging Questions)

"That play makes me hate the Gold Saucer." Astrid grumbled to herself, hands stuffed in her pockets and eyes glaring at the ground.

"Gold Saucer still makes Shin-Ra quite a sum of money." Rufus said, walking beside her, "Besides, I found the kiss to be rather amusing."

Astrid growled, "Bastard…"

The President sighed and rolled his eyes, "Get over it, Astrid. It was just a kiss. Not like you've never received any before. Besides, it was a stage kiss, so it really doesn't count."

"…still feels the same…"

Waiting until they were out of sight of the rest of the group, Rufus stepped in front of her and stopped her, grabbing her by the shoulders and searching her face.

"…Astrid, exactly how familiar are you with kissing?"

She looked up at him quizzically, "What does _that_ have to do with anything?"

Rufus frowned, "Generally speaking, people who have experienced it more than three or four times from two or more people aren't that uncomfortable with it and are able to distinguish between ones that matter and ones that don't."

"There're statistics out about this crap?"

"Quit avoiding the question."

Astrid looked at her feet and refused to meet his eye.

He deadpanned, "Astrid, how many serious relationships have you been in?"

She still stared at her feet, "…What constitutes as 'serious'?"

Rufus groaned and smacked his forehead, "Astrid…"

"Why does it matter?!" She shouted, glaring at him.

"Because I hate to see you so distressed by a stage kiss, that's why." He answered, pursing his lips and flicking his hair back impatiently. "Also, had I known that you were inexperienced, there are several situations where I would have been less forward."

"Well, aren't you valiant." Astrid said blandly, quirking a brow, "Thank you for that, O Mighty Lord of Relationships, but I assure you there is no need to coddle me and I _certainly_ don't need you to take it easy on me."

Rufus blinked, then smirked, "Well, since you put it that way—" He grabbed her shoulders and slammed her into a nearby wall, his mouth crashing onto hers.

Astrid immediately struggled, planting her feet and hands against his legs and chest and trying to push him away. Eventually, though she gave up and started to kiss back.

After a moment, Rufus placed her back on the ground and stepped away, smirking down at her as she panted and glared at him.

"What… the hell… was that?!"

Rufus shrugged, "That was me not going easy on you. Best think carefully when saying what I _don't_ need to do." He turned and walked away, waving over his shoulder, "Tootles."

After a moment, Astrid stood and followed him, jumping down the chute he had and paying no mind to where it went. _Had_ she noticed, though, she never would have followed him, because it was too late to escape when she realized where the chute led.

"NO!" Astrid screamed, turning away from the gondola and tensing to bolt to the exit chute.

"NOT A CHANCE, ASTRID!" Elena screamed, grabbing her by the shoulders and throwing her into an open gondola, the door abruptly slammed after her. "THIS IS FOR THE ELEVATOR!"

And that was how Astrid found herself alone with Rufus on their own private lift.

After landing upside down in her seat, Astrid struggled to flip herself around and sit, taking a moment to straighten her clothes and hair before looking to her lift buddy.

Rufus was looking down at her with a quirked brow, his legs crossed casually and his hands clasped and resting on his knee.

"'This is for the elevator'?" He asked, quirked brow rising further.

She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head, "Remember back when we were in the Shin-Ra building? That time you got trapped in the elevator for three hours? …Well… that was kinda something Elena had planned."

He frowned, "Why would she do that?"

Flushing slightly, Astrid looked out the window and coughed, "I… was supposed to be on that elevator, with you."

Rufus blinked, "Ah." He paused, smirking, "Well, we're alone now…"

Her eyes widened and she pushed herself against the wall, unable to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching. "Don't you dare."

Ignoring her, Rufus stood and walked to her side of the tram, sitting down beside her. Only then did he acknowledge her, smirking down at her, "Calm down. Let's just sit together and enjoy the ride."

So, there they sat side by side in the gondola, Rufus watching the sights past with his arm draped casually around Astrid's shoulders and Astrid both loving and hating the position she was in.

'Okay, possessive Rufus scares me, but he is still Rufus…right? He's still the man I met two years ago… right? Nothing's changed. He is still the man he was meant to be… only now we're in a relationship… Fuck, how do I do this?!'

"As amusing as your face can get when you're in deep thought, I must tell you that you're missing all of the sights."

Astrid jumped, squeaking. When Rufus laughed beside her, she glared at him. "What's so funny?"

Chuckling, Rufus looked at her and quirked a brow, "Did you just _squeak_?"

"No," Astrid replied blandly, lowering her eyelids halfway, "I squealed, which sounds far more amusing."

Rufus stared at her, taking a moment to seriously consider this. "You're right." He said after a moment, "That does sound far more amusing." He leaned back in his seat, smirking, "I think I'll use that version when I tell Reno."

"You tell Reno and damned thing and I'll slit your throat while you're sleeping." Astrid hissed.

The next moment, Rufus had her by the chin and was kissing her. He pulled back after a moment, smirking down at her, "There you are. I must admit, I was getting concerned when you went panicky."

"P-panicky?" Astrid asked somewhat quietly.

"When you think too much about our relationship, you tend to get panicky." Rufus answered, still smirking, "It kinda ticks me off… but it does give me a rather nice opportunity to get you flustered."

Astrid opened her mouth to say something, then snapped it shut when no words came to mind. What could she say? He'd read her like a book.

Rufus's smirk widened and he let go of her chin, pushing on the side of her head until she was looking out the window. "My suggestion is don't think about us too much; it'll work out on its own. For now, just enjoy the scenery."

For a moment, she honestly tried, but when he shifted behind her she tensed and her mind started reeling. Then, she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head and the thoughts stopped; he had flicked her.

"You're thinking again." Rufus said, his arm snaking across her chest so that his hand rested on her shoulder as he pulled her back into his chest.

"Sorry." She muttered, relaxing as the gondola stopped and the fireworks began.

………

"Geeeaaaaahhhh!" Reno stretched as he stepped out of the gondola he had shared with Rude and Kale, the redhead twisting his neck until it cracked sonorously. "Man, was that a slow ride!"

Astrid and Rufus, who had gotten off before them, frowned, Astrid asking, "You guys rode? Where are Elena and Tseng?"

Reno nodded, "Yeah, we rode. Elena insisted upon it. And, as for your last question… well…" He turned, smirking as the last gondola rode in, "I think they're right there."

The two Turks walked out, Tseng as cool and collected as ever and Elena looking a tad brighter than usual.

For a moment Astrid wondered what had happened, but upon seeing a slight deviation in Elena's usual attire she immediately knew and walked over to the woman, a smirk forming on her lips.

"Here, Elena," Astrid whispered, reaching into the woman's pocket where she knew she kept her makeup and pulled out a lipstick, popping off the cap, "You might want to fix that before anyone notices."

Elena's cheeks were flaming as she took the lipstick and pulled out a mirror, working to fix the smear on and around her lips. Astrid stayed where she was, blocking the woman from sight and throwing a smirk at Tseng, who remained stoically by Elena's side.

When Elena had fixed her makeup to Astrid's satisfaction they turned to the others, Elena flushing again when she saw the looks Rufus and Reno where throwing her and Tseng. Rude looked as blank as ever and poor Kale looked between the adults, knowing something was going on but not understanding it in the least.

Taking notice of this, Astrid knelt and smiled at her son, "So, Kale, where to next?"

Kale thought, then smiled widely, "Chocobos!"

Mimicking his face, Astrid nodded and stood, "Now there's something you and I will definitely have in common!" She grabbed his hand and pointed to the travel chutes dramatically, "To the chocobo corral!"

Rufus and the Turks exchanged glances as they followed the woman and the boy to the chutes. They were all well aware of Astrid's particular fixation to the large yellow birds and were already feeling pity for the boy, who would be easily tired out by his mother's overenthusiastic affections.

"How long do you think the poor kid'll last?" Reno asked, stretching his arms behind his head, "Two minutes? Three?"

"I'll give him three seconds, so long as Astrid's energy hasn't waned too much." Rufus answered with a smirk.

Predictably enough, Astrid's energy hadn't waned in the least.

She assertively demanded to see the chocobos before the race, crooned over them, placed an outrageously high bet on one in particular, then dragged her party to their seats to await the outcome.

"Uhh… Astrid?" Elena began nervously, wincing when the woman in question began to shout angrily at the jockeys on the race track. "Are you sure it was smart to place a 500,000 gil bet on one chocobo? I mean… do you even have that money?"

"Of course, Elena," Astrid answered distractedly, waving her hand at the Turk, "It's just fine. As if I'd bet money I don't have…"

At the carelessness in her tone, Rufus quirked a brow, "You seem pretty confident… Any particular reason why?"

Astrid rolled her eyes and smirked at Rufus, "The chocobo I bet on was sired by one of my own. I have the utmost confidence in my breeding abilities." She turned back and scowled, screaming, "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY AND LET A _REAL_ CHOCOBO THROUGH, BASTARD!"

Elena's hands shot out and covered Kale's ears as a long stream of curses came from Astrid's mouth, the boy and Shade staring at their mother with wide eyes.

In the end Astrid's chocobo won, and when she went to collect her winnings Dio, himself, was waiting for her.

"Astrid!" The man boomed, grinning widely and opening his arms as she approached, "Once again, you are the champion of chocobos! I applaud your performance."

"Now, now, Dio," Astrid began with a smirk, "You wouldn't be trying to butter me up so you can talk me out of withdrawing, would you?"

"Of course not! Why wou—"

"Why, indeed?" Rufus interrupted, walking up with a slight frown on his face.

Dio's eyes widened in shock, "P-p-p-president Shinra! What an… unexpected surprise, sir!" He then recovered and put on a weak smile, "Welcome back to the Gold Saucer, sir!"

"Yes, yes, enough with the formalities." Rufus growled impatiently, glaring between the nervous Dio and the grinning Astrid, "Why would Astrid withdrawing her earnings be a bad thing? Answer me straight, Dio."

Dio looked between Astrid and Rufus nervously, swallowing, "Well, sir, you see…" He took a deep breath, "Astrid's winnings represent more than half of Gold Saucers earnings in total!"

The president blinked, "What?"

Grinning cattishly, Astrid looped her arm through Rufus's and laughed, "When I first bet on Cloud winning the big race two years ago, the odds were 100 to 1. Why is it so surprising that I managed to amass enough money to, technically, own half of the park?"

Rufus looked down at her, "You own half of the park?"

"Not literally, sir," Dio said with a wince, "But she has gained enough interest here that, if she were to withdraw it all at once, Gold Saucer would collapse financially." The man threw Astrid a winning grin, "Which is why she always gets the presidential treatment whenever she's here."

Astrid shrugged, smirking, "I keep trying to insist that he treats me the same as any other customer, but he is so adamant I figured I may as well keep him happy."

Rufus quirked a brow, "You've become quite the monopolizing tyrant, haven't you?"

"Learned from the best." Astrid shot back.

Rufus threw his head back and laughed.

"S-so, Astrid," Dio began, smiling at her nervously, "You aren't… going to withdraw?"

Astrid thought about this for a moment, "Actually… I think I will. I'll need 900,000 gil, if you please."

Dio nodded and pulled out a phone, leaving the Turks, Rufus and Kale to stare at Astrid in shock.

"Miss Cray… Exactly how much money did you say you had, again?"

"I didn't say, Tseng. And how many times have I asked you to call me Astrid?"

As she turned and walked away, Kale and Shade in tow, neither Rufus nor the Turks failed to notice that she, had once again, dodged the question.


	14. Argument

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(Argument)

After Dio had personally given Astrid her stored-value card, she insisted on using it to check them all into and paying for some rooms at the Ghost Square, which consisted of buying GP from the Arcade before they could actually head to the hotel.

After renting two rooms and banishing Rufus and the male Turks to fight between the two beds, Astrid, Elena and Kale, who was still carrying Shade, headed to their own room, where Astrid immediately turned on Elena and pinned her with a sadistic smirk.

"So… you and Tseng were lookin' pretty satisfied after you two got off of the gondola."

Elena blushed, taking a step back. "Uhh…" Her eyes shot around the room desperately, finally landing on Kale. "You shouldn't talk like that with your son in the room!" She declared triumphantly.

Astrid rolled her eyes, "Kale, sweetheart, go take a bath, alright? We've been running around all evening."

Kale complied immediately, a bit nervous about the sugar-sweet tone his adoptive mother had used.

Elena watched Astrid wearily as the woman walked over to the bed and picked up Shade. The Turk commented, "What wonderful parenting skills you have. If he didn't feel like he was in the way before, he sure will now."

"Kale is a smart, capable boy," Astrid replied with a sigh, sitting down on the edge of one of the two beds. She then threw Elena a grin and asked, "So… what happened?"

"How much money do you have, again?" Elena asked, narrowing her eyes.

Astrid nodded at the jab, "Touché." She though, then replied cryptically, "Let's just say that the amount I have would be able to run a small subsidiary of Shin-Ra, with all departments in mind and roughly three hundred staff, for about… a year and a half, not counting any profits made."

The Turk stiffened at this, then calmed and replied, just as cryptically, "Let's just say we're comfortable where we are at, though we would prefer not to make it a big deal."

"Awww, Elena!" Astrid exclaimed suddenly, setting Shade down and leaping at the Turk, pulling her into a hug, "You and Tseng are finally together!"

Elena stood still for a moment, frozen. Then, she raised a hand and jerkily patted Astrid on the back. When the hug had gone on far longer than Elena would have liked, she squirmed out of Astrid's grasp and took a few steps back, looking at her wearily.

Astrid rolled her eyes, "Elena, we've known each other for almost four years now and you can't even _hug_ me?"

"Proper Turk protocol requires—" Elena began to mutter, only to be cut off my Astrid.

"That you not know how to display emotions?" Astrid quirked a brow, "Elena, we're friends, right? I mean, I would assume we are. …I did spend the better part of two years looking for you because I thought we were…"

"Yeah… I guess…" Elena answered slowly, not liking to be reminded of what she had had to do to her friend.

Astrid, though, smiled and gave the Turk a playful punch to the shoulder, "Then loosen up, already! Protocol is fine and all in public, but when it's just you and me chill a bit, alright?" When Elena just looked at her feet and grumbled, Astrid quirked a brow, "What's up with you, eh? You seem glum."

"Astrid…" Elena sighed, walking over to a chair by the window and taking a seat, gesturing to the chair's twin in front of her, "Have a seat."

A bit shocked by the formalities, Astrid complied and sat, folding her hands in her lap in a serious manner. "What is it, Elena?"

"Rufus wants to bring Shin-Ra back." Elena stated bluntly.

Astrid blinked, slowly nodding, "I can imagine he would…"

"As employees of Shin-Ra, the Turks want what the President wants. And, since you are also, still technically, an employee of Shin-Ra, yourself, you should want this as well."

"…Yes?..."

"…You are continuously making reference to your large stores of money."

"…" Astrid frowned wearily, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms, "Can we get to the point, already? All of this lackadaisical pussyfooting is starting to annoy me."

"…" Elena sighed, "Astrid, Rufus wants access to your money."

"…? How can you tell?"

"He told me to ask you."

"…Oh. Hell. No."

* * *

"Didn't have enough balls to ask me yourself, Mr. President?" Astrid hissed as she slid into place beside Rufus on the helicopter, the man nodding to Reno to take off. "Had to order one of your flunkies to ask for you?"

Rufus glanced at her, frowning, "Astrid, can we talk about this la—"

"No, Rufus. We talk now" She growled, her hands balling into fists.

Suddenly, it all made sense. Why would Rufus Shinra act so uncharacteristically romantic? Why would Rufus Shinra be attracted to her? Why would Rufus **fucking** Shinra deign to be her beau?

Money.

Rufus Shinra was about power, and what better way to get power than money? He wanted to resurrect Shin-Ra, so he needed her money.

And what better way to get it than to seduce it out of her.

Fucking Rufus Shinra…

"You used me." Astrid hissed, her eyeballs burning beneath their lids with… what? Anger? Or possibly salinity? At this point, either was probable.

Rufus's frown deepened, "What are you—" Then, his eyes widened as he suddenly understood, only to narrow dramatically a moment later, after he had had a moment to process what she was implying. And now that he knew, he was pissed.

Had Astrid not been so angry, she might have had half a mind to be a bit worried. But she was angry, and she didn't think. She just glared.

Almost shaking with anger, Rufus leaned in so that his forehead was touching hers, were he hissed, "You and I will continue this conversation when we get back to Healin."

* * *

"Astrid," Rufus growled as he pushed her down onto the bed, glaring at her as she sat up, "Let me tell you who I am. Third in line, I am President of Shin-Ra Electric Power Company. Second, I am Rufus Shinra, a descendent from a line of men born to rule. But, first and foremost, I am a man, and no self-respecting man would take advantage of a woman in a sexual manner in order to get money from her. You know me, and I know you know that I would never, never, ask for money like this, nor would I take advantage of you like you were suggesting."

Astrid sat back silently and watched as Rufus deflated, his anger apparently leaving him as he flopped down onto the bed beside her, landing on his stomach.

After staring at his back for a moment, she looked away slowly.

"You'll work in alliance with Reeve."

Rufus lifted his head and craned his neck back to look at her, "Huh?"

"You'll fund the World Regenesis Organization, Reeve's organization." Astrid elaborated, "Tifa told me about it." She looked at him, "It's basically the company that's taking Shin-Ra's place; it exists to keep the planet safe."

"I know what it is." Rufus grumbled, sitting up, "I just didn't think you knew about it."

"I know more than you think." Astrid rolled her eyes, then turned her head away and looked down at her lap, "Like what happened to a majority of Shin-Ra's coffers." When Rufus jerked beside her, she went on, "Not all of Shin-Ra's money was in paper… most of it was in credit. When Shin-Ra collapsed and its employees had no work to return to, they thought they were lost. Then… suddenly a 'loophole' was found by the companies last few financial advisors, and each former employee found themselves with a sum of at least ten thousand gold…" She sighed, "It wasn't much, but… it was there." Astrid then turned back, smirking at Rufus, "No one knew you were alive, but it was you, wasn't it? You _wrote_ that 'loophole', and as a result lost almost all of the money Shin-Ra had."

Rufus blinked slowly, then turned away and flopped back down onto his stomach.

Smirk turning into a smile, Astrid scooted back and started massaging his back, "Aww, did Rufus have a soft moment?"

"Shut up and work on the knots between my shoulder blades." Rufus grumbled, pausing a moment before adding, "You'll be in charge of liaisons between Shin-Ra and WRO. Do it as discreetly as possible and only speak directly to Reeve about any transactions; no middle man other than yourself."

"Fine." Astrid nodded, "But it's all being done in Shin-Ra's name. I refuse to sign my own name on any official papers, unless it's followed by 'Shin-Ra' in some form." When Rufus sighed irritably, she rolled her eyes, "Do you want to repay Gaia or not? As one of your employees, I can't do this on my own, Rufus."

"Whatever."

Astrid sighed loudly, then threw her legs over the edge of the bed and stood, "I'm going to check on Kale. He's been alone with Reno for too long."

"Hold up." Rufus stood, walking to the closet and opening it. From inside, he pulled out three familiar items; Radiant Twilight, the Teleport materia, and the Book. He threw them on the bed and looked at Astrid pointedly, "What are we going to do with these?"

Astrid's cheeks puffed out as she forced a long breath out from her lips. She paused, then began to point, "The materia needs to be destroyed, the Book needs to go back to Cosmo Canyon, and Radiant Twilight…"

"Can be destroyed right alongside the materia." Rufus finished, crossing his arms and frowning, "Why did you accept the blade in the first place, Astrid?"

She shrugged, "I was too flustered when it was offered to turn it away. Besides, I had no idea Kadaj would use it to infect me with Geostigma, otherwise I wouldn't have even touched it."

"Accepting anything from an enemy is stupid." Rufus narrowed his eyes, "Especially when the thing in question happens to have been a 'gift from Jenova'."

"You know," Astrid glared at him, "If we're going to start on this whole tirade about 'why did you do this stupid thing', how about I ask you why lied to me and didn't tell me you had Jenova's head sitting in you lap the whole damned time?"

Rufus quirked a brow, "It was on a need-to-know basis, and you didn't need to know."

"And what I do is on an I-only-care-about-certain-people's-input, and quite frankly," She smirked, "I don't care for your input."

"Ah!" Rufus cried dramatically, pressing his hand to his heart, "You _wound_ me, Astrid."

"Shinra," Astrid sighed, "Bite me."

Rufus smirked, taking a step towards her, "Tell me where."

She glared at him, "Try my fist when I force-feed it to you."

Rufus took another step towards her, smirk growing, "I like it when you talk dirty."

Astrid couldn't hold back a smirk as she put out her hand to stop him, pressing against his chest, "Back off, pretty boy. We don't want to mar your precious face, do we?" When Rufus batted her hand aside and pulled her against him, she frowned, "How is it we almost always manage to go from fighting to aroused? Do you count arguing as some kind of twisted foreplay?"

Rufus quirked a brow, "We **both** do, apparently."

"So does this count as a watered-down sado-masochistic relationship?"

Rufus smirked, "Just don't go dominatrix on me; I'm the dominant one here."

Astrid smirked back, grabbing the back of his head and pulling his face closer to hers, "We'll see about that."

Rufus leaned in, his mouth brushing against her, "Be prepared to submit."

Then…

Someone knocked on the door.

"Astrid?" Reno called, "Kale wants you."

Astrid twitched and Rufus hissed, both muttering, "I'm going to kill that man."

With a sigh, Astrid disentangled herself from Rufus and walked to the door, jerking it open and kicking Reno in the groin. When the Turk had collapsed to the ground, Astrid stepped over him and walked down the hall, knocking on her son's door when she came to it.

"Kale? You in there?"

"Come in!" He called back.

Opening the door slowly, Astrid put on a smile and walked in, her smile widening when she saw Kale sitting on his bed, playing with Shade.

"Cute, isn't he?"

Kale nodded, looking up at her and smiling, "I've never had a pet before, so playing with yours is fun!"

"How about you keep him, then?"

Kale's eyes widened, "Really?!"

Astrid nodded, smiling, "Sure, why not? You're old enough to take on the responsibility, and it'll be reassuring for me to know that you'll always have someone around watching your back." She reached out, scratching the hellkitten behind its ears, "This breed of cat in particular is very loyal."

"Did you used to have one?"

"Rufus did, actually." Astrid smiled sadly, "Her name was Dark Nation, and she was a very loyal, beautiful creature."

Kale looked down at Shade, petting his back, "Is Shade her son?"

Astrid shook her head, "No. A… good friend of mine gave him to be just before he died, but I didn't know about him until I came back here after a hard battle. Kadaj probably left him on our doorstep sometime after everyone had left Healin to fight."

Kale looked at her in shock, "Wasn't Kadaj… one of the…" He trailed off weakly when she looked down at him.

"Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo did bad things, Kale." She whispered, "But they were… deluded. I know that nothing I can say can take back what they did, but… they weren't all bad." She then shook her head, "So, did you want to talk to me about something?"

Kale nodded, "When can I start school?"

Astrid blinked, shocked, "You… want to go to school?"

"Yeah!"

She smiled slowly at his answer, "I'll have to think about a good institution, but… as soon as possible, Kale."

* * *

"Junon, Rufus? Are you kidding me?" Astrid sighed, crossing her arms and pacing, "Junon is currently under mob rule; we can't send Kale to school there!"

"It's not like we can send him to Midgar; most of it is still in ruins, and I personally highly doubt they have a functioning school." Rufus sighed, "If you're so opposed to Junon, why don't we have Tseng tutor him?"

"He needs to gain social skills in a public school." Astrid replied distractedly, biting her thumb. "Are there any places of Junon that are still protected?"

"So long as the Turks are there, yes." Rufus smirked.

Astrid stopped, throwing him a glare, "The Turks are an elite group of assassins, Rufus."

"Actually, technically now that Shin-Ra is largely collapsed, they only act as bodyguards. Technically, they're no longer Turks."

Astrid sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She then looked at him, "Junon, huh?"


	15. Schooling and Meeting

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

...Hehe. (smiles sheepishly) Sorry about the delay...

(Schooling and Meeting)

"It'll be just fine, Kale." Astrid assured as she straightened the boy's collar, "Junon P.S. 119 is on the northern side of the upper plate, which is currently the safest area of Junon. You'll be in a class of kids your age, you'll make lots of friends, and I've already met your teacher." She smiled, "He's a nice man, Kale."

"Will you be staying with me?" Kale asked, nervous.

She thought about this, shrugging, "For the first few minutes. Once class starts, though, I'll have to go."

"Five minutes." Reno called from the front of the helicopter, "We'll settle down on the roof and you can take him to the head office."

Kale flinched, "Won't it look… weird if I come to school in a helicopter?"

Astrid shrugged, "Think of it as a conversation starter."

Once the helicopter landed, Astrid jumped out onto the ground and held her hand back towards the door, keeping her head low beneath the still spinning helicopter blades.

Kale took her hand and followed, clutching the disgruntled Shade to his chest.

As soon as the helicopter had begun to power down, Reno and Rude jumped out, jogging and straightening to stand on either side of Astrid and Kale as sentries.

Nodding sharply, Astrid led the way to the roof access door and down the stairs, heading straight for the principals office and ignoring the odd looks they were getting from teachers and students alike.

"Excuse me," She said to the secretary, nodding when the woman jumped, "Hello, my name is Astrid Cray. Is Principal Sao in?"

The secretary blinked behind her thick glasses, then riffled through some papers in front of her, casting nervous glances at Reno and Rude every now and then.

Seeing this and becoming highly amused by it, Reno waited until she glanced at him again to throw her a roguish grin, flashing all of his teeth and narrowing his eyes in a demented manner.

The secretary paled and looked back down at her papers.

Reno chuckled, only to choke and cough a second later when Astrid's elbow met his ribs sharply.

"Ah, here you are!" The secretary said suddenly, nodding and looking up at Astrid with eyes that had been ridiculously emphasized by her thick glasses, "You're right on time. Mr. Sao will see you now." She then stood, gesturing for them to follow her around the counter and to a door in the back.

"Principal Sao." She called, rapping on the door gently, "Miss Cray is here to see you."

"Let her in." A deep, baritone voice called back.

Astrid glanced over her shoulder and nodded to Reno and Rude, who nodded back and stayed where they were, guarding the door. Taking Kale's hand, Astrid walked through the door.

Inside of the office was dark and cool, the blinds shut and a single, small chandelier light overhead turned on as dimly as the setting would allow for both darkness and visibility for paperwork.

"Miss Cray," Principal Sao, a tall, dark-skinned man with thick black hair and deep brown eyes, stood, smiling and holding out his hand. After he had shaken hands with Astrid, he looked down at Kale and his smile brightened, "And this must be Kale."

Astrid nodded, smiling and sitting, "Thank you, Mr. Sao, for seeing us on such short notice. I know it's rather late in the year, but…"

"It's nothing to worry about, Miss Cray." Sao assured, nodding, "After we give Kale a proficiency test, we'll put him on the best track to catch up with the rest of his peers. This will, of course, require that you help him at home…" He trailed off, blinking expectantly.

"Which I assure you, he will get." Astrid assured, wrapping an arm around Kale's shoulders and nodding seriously, "He'll have myself and five others as references should he need it."

Sao smiled, please, "Good." He stood and walked out from behind his desk, looking at Kale, "Your teacher, Mrs. Nyquest, is expecting you. Shall I take you there, now?"

Kale looked up at him silently, carefully handing Shade over to Astrid and nodding.

"Good." Sao smiled pleasantly, "Then we'll just say 'goodbye' to your mom here and go."

Kale nodded again, then turned to Astrid and flung himself into her arms.

"Don't worry." She assured, smiling, "Mr. Sao already said that Reno and Rude can stay with you, and the helicopter will be waiting for you as soon as school is out to take you home."

"Bye, Mom." Kale muttered, following the principal out of the room.

Astrid stared after him, her legs numb and her heart racing.

"Yo, Astrid?" Reno stuck his head through the door, "You coming?"

"He called me 'Mom'…" She muttered, her eyes wide.

"Kid just made your day, didn't he?" Reno asked, smirking and rolling his eyes, "Let's go. Rude'll stay here while I take you to headquarters, then I'll come back after I drop you off." When she didn't move, the Turk sighed and grabbed her arm and drug her out the door, "C'mon, Rufus doesn't like to be kept waiting."

From the roof, the ride in the helicopter took far less time than expected, because soon they were landing on the roof of the old Junon branch Shin-Ra base.

"Why are we here?" Astrid asked as she stepped out of the helicopter, "We aren't going back to Healin?"

"Nope, we're done there." Reno nodded, "Rufus's healed up as much as he can and thinks it's about time that Shin-Ra got off its ass and back to work. This place is the new base. Now, I gotta go." He threw her a mock salute and started the helicopter, "Close the door and get inside!"

Astrid slammed the door and backed away, watching as the sleek aircraft rose, hovered, then turned back in the direction of the school and flew off. Heaving a sigh, Astrid turned and headed to the first entrance she could find. Inside, she wandered around for a bit, giving her memory time to remember the dusty, cobweb draped halls and where they led.

Eventually, she made herself to Rufus's old office, where she found him glaring at the thick layer of dust on his chair in disgust, Tseng and Elena standing on either side of the large window behind both the chair and the desk.

Rufus looked up at her as she walked in, scowling, "Just look at this place." He gestured to the room around them, indicating to the old burns on the rugs, the stuffing that had been ripped out of the torn leather chairs and sofas, the broken glass of the giant windows behind him, and the rest of the general destruction and defacement of the room, "Two years was all it took for those gang punks to completely demolish this place."

Astrid shrugged, crossing her arms over her stomach and crossing the room slowly, "Not as bad as it could be, you know. They could have completely gutted and burned the rooms had Palmer not been here."

"Palmer," Rufus sneered, "All he did was hold himself up in the kitchen for two years. The rest of the compound is no better, and all of the aircraft and vehicles have either been stolen or vandalized."

"Okay," Astrid nodded, clapping her hands together, "Then let's get to work cleaning things up. What's the first thing we need to do to get Shin-Ra back together?"

Rufus stared at her for a minute, then shrugged, "I didn't know we were trying to reestablish Shin-Ra."

"Of course we are!" Astrid smiled widely, "Remember two years ago when I told you about the progression of government and how eventually the people were going to rise against you and overthrow your tyrannical regime?"

"Vaguely." The man growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, I didn't tell you at the time, but that was actually already happening, and your usurpers were AVALANCHE." Astrid shrugged, "However, as is the case in some revolutions, just because you're no longer controlling the world doesn't necessarily mean that you're done playing your part."

"I know," Rufus sighed, rolling his eyes, "The WRO, right?"

"Yep." Astrid nodded, "I'll swing by Gold Saucer and pull out a bit of money, swing by Cosmo Canyon to take care of a few things, then head right to the WRO Headquarters."

"You know where it is?" Rufus asked, frowning.

"No," Astrid admitted, shrugged, "But I know someone who does." She pulled out her PHS and dialed a number, turning towards the wall and holding it to her ear, not addressing Rufus any further.

"President Shinra." Rufus turned to Tseng, who blinked, "Is it… wise to leave matters like this to Miss Cray? I've studied her work before and you and she… don't exactly handle business the same way."

"It's fine." Rufus assured distractedly, waving his hand and studying several papers he had pulled out of his pocket, "She and Reeve get along, so things should go well."

Tseng shook his head, "Sir… I don't think you understand. You and she _really_ don't handle business in ways that are even _remotely_ similar."

"Then Reeve should find it all the easier to agree with her terms." Rufus muttered, pulling out a pen and scribbling a few things onto the papers, "Rocket Town metal is supposed to be of a fine grade, right? We're going to need to put up some new fences…"

Tseng frowned, "Sir, you aren't listeni—"

"Alright." Astrid interrupted, turning back and shutting her PHS, "Chocobo Rob is sending Misha, but I have to go to the edge of town; I don't like the idea of her wandering through to the upper level alone." She nodded, "I'll be back in a few hours, probably; Misha's a fast pacer and Gaia is a fairly small planet."

"You have your Shin-Ra issue PHS?" Rufus asked, nodding when she pulled it out, "Good. Call if anything happens and we'll be there as soon as we can."

"Roger." Astrid nodded, putting the phone away and turning towards the door. She stopped mid-spin, stood still for a moment, then turned back and walked to the desk, her face blank.

Rufus scribbled a few more things on the papers, then looked up and blinked, quirking a brow when he saw Astrid standing in front of his desk, just staring down at him. "Yes?"

Astrid stared at him for a moment longer, then leaned across the desk and grabbed his collar, yanking him towards her and smashing her lips against his.

It took Rufus a beat to recover, and when he did he kissed her back, only to have her draw back as soon as he began to respond. Rufus growled and glared at her, "What in the hell was that for?"

"Payback." Astrid said, smirking as she turned and walked to the door, "For what you did to me at the Gold Saucer." Then she was out the door and gone.

Rufus stared after her, silent.

Behind him, Tseng chuckled, "She seems to be getting even bolder."

"That's a relief." Rufus smirked, "I was starting to think we wouldn't get anywhere."

………

Astrid stood before the door of one of the many houses in Rocket Town, stalling on knocking and looking around settlement.

Since Shin-Ra had fallen and the WRO had taken over, commerce within the town had grown, so, naturally, so had the town itself. The discovery of oil and the following discovery of oil being used as a natural resource increased the need for workers in Rocket Town, and the sudden increase of job opportunities had led to many people, mainly those from the fallen city of Midgar, moving to Rocket Town for a chance to start over.

There was one thing that hadn't changed, though, and she was standing right in front of it.

"Can I help you?" A gruff voice barked from behind her, something circular and rod-like pressing against her spine.

Astrid raised her hands slowly, laughing, "Cid, you really have to stop 'greeting' me like this."

"…Astrid?" The rod fell and a hand grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around so she was looking up into the scarred and grizzled face of Cid Highwind.

Astrid smiled, raising her hand and waving, "Yo."

Cid laughed, pulling her into a rough, one-armed hug before dragging her through the door and practically throwing her down into a chair at the kitchen table. "Shera! Get some tea made! We've got company!"

A tall, lithe woman with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail and glasses walked into the kitchen, smiling widely when she saw Astrid at the table. "Miss Cray!"

Astrid stood and opened her arms to receive Shera's hug, hugging the woman back tightly, "It's good to see you, Shera." She then nodded to Cid over Shera's shoulder, "Both of you."

"Good to see you, too." Cid nodded, "Shera, the tea."

"Oh, right!" Shera broke away from Astrid, shuffling over to the stove and pulling out a teapot.

"Now, Astrid," Cid began, sitting down at the table and resting his feet on its surface, "Where have you been?"

Astrid sat, smirking, "Oh, I think you know."

Cid snarled, "Still with that Shinra bastard?" He pulled out a cigarette from behind his ear and place it between his lips, lighting it and exhaling a long plume of smoke before going on, "No clue what you see in that guy."

"Frankly, neither do I." Astrid laughed and shrugged, "But it's there, and it keeps me by his side."

Cid chuckled, then dropped his feet to the ground and leaned forward, looking at her gravely, "What is it you need, Astrid?"

"The WRO." She answered, just as grave, "Where is Barret?"

"Out on the fields." Cid nodded to Shera as she set two cups of tea in front of them, "Drink up, eat something, then I'll take you out there."

Following the gruff pilots orders, Astrid drank her tea, savoring the comforting, warm, bitter liquid. It had taken her four hours of riding on Misha to get to Rocket Town, and they had taken the straight path, crossing the mountains. It had been tiring work, and she was grateful for the homemade tea and the sandwich Shera made for her.

After they had eaten, Cid led her to the renovated _Tiny Bronco_ and they got in, flying several miles northeast and passing over great seesawing pumpjacks and derricks that were drawing up crude oil from several meters under the ground.

There were hundreds of them as far as the eye could see, and there were dozens of men manning each one.

When they got to the center of the action, Cid directed the airplane towards an airstrip and began to set down, guiding the plane effortlessly onto the tarmac and stopping it without a hitch. As they jumped out of the plane, a great bear of a man made their way towards him, his gun-arm waving in the air.

"Heeeeeeeey!" A great, booming voice roared, "Ciiiiid!"

"Barret!" Cid roared back, raising his arm high.

When Barret was close enough to recognize her, he laughed out loud and pointed to Astrid, "_You_, young lady, have a lot to answer for!"

Astrid laughed, "Don't I always?"

Once he was standing in front of her, Barret drew her into a bone crushing bear hug with his gun-arm, the strength of the muscles in his fighting arm only acting to heighten the force and making her back crack loudly.

"Finally come out of hiding, eh?" Barret asked as he dropped her, smirking down at her as she bent over and placed her hands on her knees, coughing.

"Yeah." She rasped, "Figured it was about time to stop hiding and reintroduce myself to reality."

Barret nodded, then frowned, "Hey, back in Midgar, with Kadaj and the others… you're better, right?"

"Of course!" Astrid exclaimed, plastering a smile on her face, "Enough about that, now. I need your help with something."

Barret nodded, "Finding Reeve, right?" When Astrid looked at him in shock, the man shrugged, "Reeve figured you'd be lookin' for him soon. Let me get someone to cover for me and I'll take you."

"I'll cover." Cid offered.

"Thanks." Barret nodded, then sighed, "Well, I guess now I gotta blindfold you."

Astrid blinked, "Blindfold?"

"No one outside of the WRO knows or is to know of its location." Barret said simply, pulling a long, thin cloth and a black bag out of his pocket.

As he secured these over her face, Astrid vaguely wondered if the sensation was what it felt like for those about to walk death row.

When she was thoroughly blinded, she let Barret place a hand on her back and guide her across the tarmac, where after several moments of walking he helped her board a vehicle.


End file.
